Cover art

The Croxall version was in black and white. The title is clear and lined up neatly. The style of the cover printing seems consistent with copies published in the 17^th century.

Next to the cover is a sketch that vividly depicts a man and animals. The man is holding a pen and a piece of paper. He seems to be looking at those animals as he writes down thoughts. It can be easily inferred from the picture that the man is Aesop himself surrounded by animals of his own creation. The title suggests that this book was the 13^th edition and it was carefully revised and improved. It is to note that this book included fables not only from Aesop but also others. And each fable is presented with a print and an application. The application here functions as the moral which will be discussed later in section 4.2.4.

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Figure 21 The cover of the Croxall version

The second book is the Bewick version. The cover was printed similar to the previous version yet there are small illustrations in between the text. Judging from the architecture in the picture, it seems to be a scene from Newcastle. Next to the cover is a page with a passage of handwriting and another picture. The bottom of the page is signed by Thomas Bewick himself and has his inked thumbprint. The picture seems to be depicting a rural area in England. The title suggests that all the art presented before each fable is done by woodprint. Comparing the styles, we can tell that these two pictures are also woodprints. There is also a passage inscribed on the cover that reads

“The wisest of the Ancients delivered their Conceptions of the Deity, and their Lessons of Morality, in Fables and Parables.”

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Figure 22 The cover of the Bewick version

The third book is the James version published in 1848. This book has two covers presented on two different pages. The first page has a picture depicting a man standing on a podium while men, women and children all surround him and listen to him speak.

The man is standing in front of a statue. There is a passage in Latin inscribed below the picture and it suggests that the Athenians created a statue in Aesop’s honor. Underneath the inscription are animals sleeping and cuddling all together. The picture indicates that Aesop’s wisdom had long been praised dating back to Ancient Greece. The second page has the text part of the cover. The tittle suggests that fables selected are chiefly from an original source. As for what original source it is referring to, we might need to look for clues or answers in its preface or introduction. It is made clear on the cover that the author and the artist for the book were different people. At the end of the text is a short passage written in Latin by Phaedrus.

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Figure 23 The cover of the James version - 1

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Figure 24 The cover of the James version - 2

The fourth book is the Crane version published in 1887 with the title “The Baby’s own Aesop.” The left page pictures a young reader surrounded by all sorts of animals. The

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art work is rich in color and the composition is unique. The cover text is written on an ancient scroll and incorporated in the picture. The cover text is handwritten and thus it adds a bit of childishness to the artwork. Owls, birds, a crane and a wolf are all looking at the scroll as if they understand its meaning. The vivid colors and strong images all seem very attractive to readers, especially children. The back of the Crane version is equally colorful and informative. It advertises two other books by Walter Crane. The art work of the Crane version and the other books advertised at the back were all done by the artist Edmund Evans.

Figure 25 The cover of the Crane version

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Figure 26 The back of the Crane version

The fifth book is the Detmold version published in 1909. The cover is really simple and does not have a lot of text. Inside the golden frame there stands an eagle spreading its wings on a branch. The title is inscribed above the image. Though simple and using sparse amounts of color, the cover art is still delicate in terms of the details of the eagle’s fur.

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Figure 27 The cover of the Detmold version

The last book is the Jacobs version published in 1922. This version is simple and in black and white. As suggested by the title, this version includes fables selected and retold by Joseph Jacobs and the art work done by Richard Heighway. The page next to the cover has a picture divided into two sections. The upper frame depicts a crane and

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a wolf standing right next to a shallow plate. The lower frame also had a crane and a wolf, but this time there is a narrow vase in between them. It is obvious that the two frames tell a widely-known fable by Aesop: The Fox and the Stork, also known as The Fox and the Crane. This fable was first recorded in the collection of Phaedrus. The illustration shown in the cover seems to sever as a specimen for readers, telling them what to expect in the book.

Figure 28 The cover of the Jacobs version

All these six covers are slightly different from each other. Some are colorful while some are in black and white. However different, the art works are all impressive and pleasing to the eye. The cover designs didn’t seem to get any simpler as time progressed. Each version has its own unique art style which provides reader with many options when choosing a suitable version for their children or themselves. The most interesting cover

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is the Crane version. Colors take up the entire cover which makes it seems so playful and intriguing. Compared to the other versions, the Crane version’s cover seems to cater more to young readers. The Crane version was also the only one to modify the title into

“the baby’s own Aesop” implying that it was a book meant for the small children.