Victorian Trade Cards From Au Bon Marche Paris, Very Rare Complete Set Of 10 Cards, Theme Is Fables Of Jean De La Fontaine

Victorian Trade Cards From Au Bon Marche Paris, Very Rare Complete Set Of 10 Cards, Theme Is Fables Of Jean De La Fontaine

This special set of trade cards from the famous French department store, Le Bon Marche, come from the collection of the great grandson of a director of that store who kept a complete set from new so they were never issued to the public.

These cards were given to the children of customers of Le Bon Marche when they visited the store. It proved to be a brilliant idea as the children then pestered their parents to go back so that they could collect more.

Each of these cards normally retails for up to 60 euros so this complete set, which is in excellent condition, is a real bargain as a complete perfect set is extremely rare.

The theme of the cards are the fables from Jean de la Fontaine, the famous French poet who lived from 1621-1695.

The 10 cards are:

1 L'aigle et La Pie

2 Le Geai Pare des Plumes du Paon

3 La Lupe et La Cigonge

4 La Grenouille et Le Rat

5 L'Ane et Le Chien

6 Le Lievre et La Tortue

7 Le Corbeau et Le Renard

8 Le Grenouille et Le Boeuf

9 Le Heron

10 Le Renard et La Cigogne

Each card measures 14 x 11 cm and has stunning illustrations of the fable on the front with an advertisement for Le Bon Marche and on the reverse is the complete fable.

They were designed and printed by J E Goosens of Paris in around 1900.