#Pierre Probst

[kestarren]

Noiraud at Caroline's Party, 1950s, by Pierre Probst.

[holespoles]

Today is the day that Pierre Probst, a French picture book author famous for his Caroline series, passed away. When I was a child, I used to buy a subscription to Shogakukan's "The World's Fairy Tales," which included this series of books, and I read them over and over again.

本日はカロリーヌシリーズで有名なフランスの絵本作家ピエール・プロブストが亡くなった日です。 小さい時定期購入していた小学館の「世界の童話」の中にこのシリーズが含まれており何度も読み返したものです。

[uwmspeccoll]

A Colorfully Exotic Feathursday

This week we bring you some exotics from our children’s book The World of Animals by Mary Holmes, with illustrations by the noted French illustrator and cartoonist Pierre Probst, published just down the road from us in Racine, Wisconsin by the Whitman Publishing Company in 1963, and printed by another noted Racine institution, Western Printing and Lithographing Company. Pierre Probst is perhaps most well-known for his series of children’s books featuring the independent, blonde, pig-tailed character Caroline. The World of Animals is part of Whitman’s educational series Whitman World Library.   

It’s curious that they would include the cardinal and hummingbird among exotic birds, as they are among the most common birds both here in Milwaukee and in Racine. The canary and parakeet (budgerigar) may have been considered exotic at one time, but they are now the most common of household birds. Still, they are all very colorful!

View more posts on books from the Whitman Publishing Company.

View more posts on children’s books from our Historical Curriculum Collection.

View more Feathursday posts.

[catsofyore]

From the book Caroline's Party, 1972. Illustrated by Pierre Probst and written by Jane Carruth.

[xtruss]

Wehrheim, Germany! A deer stands in deep grass near Frankfurt. Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

President Vladimir Putin takes the oath of office during his inauguration ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. Photograph: Alexander Kazakov/Reuters

Moscow, Russia! Russian president-elect, Vladimir Putin, before his inauguration ceremony at the Kremlin. Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AFP/Getty Images

Amsterdam, Netherlands! Students set up a camp and barricades on the campus of the University of Amsterdam to support Gaza. The Amsterdam-based student collective says it is promoting justice in Palestine, raising awareness about Israeli settler colonialism and fighting for an academic boycott. Photograph: Pierre Crom/Getty Images

Acapulco, Mexico! The Mexican navy’s training ship, Cuauhtémoc, prepares to set sail. With a record number of women, it will embark on a more than seven-month journey, visiting three continents and 10 countries, including the US and China. Photograph: David Guzman/EPA

London, UK! The London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and his wife, Saadiya Khan, pose for a selfie with supporters as they walk across the Millennium Bridge before his swearing-in ceremony. Khan was re-elected for a historic third term on Saturday. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

[circusfans-italia]

ALMANACCO DEL FESTIVAL DI MONTECARLO – 16° EDIZIONE 1992

ALMANACCO DEL FESTIVAL DI MONTECARLO – 16° EDIZIONE 1992

30 gennaio-5 febbraio 1992 GIURIA - Principe Ranieri III di Monaco, Presidente - Principessa Stephanie, Vice Presidente - Mary Chupperfield (Inghilterra) - Tibor Eotvos (Ungheria) - Norovin Batmunch (Mongolia) - Arlette Gruss (Francia) - Guy Laliberté (Canada) - Gerd Siemoneit (Germania) - Urs Pilz, coordinatore della giuria PALMARES DEL FESTIVAL CLOWN D'ORO NOUVELLE EXPERIENCE - CONTORSIONISTE TROUPE DI PYONGYANG - TRAPEZISTI VOLANTI CLOWN D'ARGENTO TROUPE DI SHENYANG - ELASTICI AEREI WENDEL HUBER - ELEFANTI TINO E TONI - MANO A MANO COMICO Il Circo torna alla corte del Principe. Riecco a Montecarlo la manifestazione che nel 1991 saltò per una doppia circostanza negativa: la paura di attacchi terroristici a seguito della guerra nel Golfo e il lutto per la scomparsa di Stefano Casiraghi, marito della Principessa Carolina, avvenuta nel mese di ottobre 1990. Per il secondo anno gli spettacoli di selezione sono due che replicano ciascuno due volte. Lo spettacolo di gala verrà replicato in due ulteriori repliche "Show des vainqueurs") per consentire a un maggior numero di persone di assistere allo spettacolo dei vincitori, a cui ovviamente non parteciperà nè la famiglia Reale nè la Giuria. Nella giuria troviamo Guy Lalibertè, cofondatore del Cirque du Soleil. In gara anche il quartetto di contorsioniste dello spettacolo Nouvelle Experience del Soleil che si aggiudicheranno uno dei due Ori. E' un Festival che premia le nuove influenze, i venti del cirque provenienti dal Canada, appunto, uno dei marchi di fabbrica del Roncalli, il mano a mano di Tino Fratellini e Toni Ferreira; un modo di presentare gli animali in forma ludico-giocosa come nel caso della pantomima degli elefantini africani di Wendell Huber; gli elastici dei cinesi di Shenyang, disciplina ancora poco vista fino a quel momento. Grande escluso dal palmarés l'icona del circo russo Sarvat Begboudi, che porta a Monte Carlo le prime tigri bianche e un numero di gocoliere a cavallo. Bella affermazione per i clown Rossyann, con il padre Pierre, che si fanno conoscere al mondo intero, come ottimi interpreti della tradizione del clown musicale europeo. ELENCO PARTECIPANTI

1992

Sergio M. Loyal Probst Cavalleria Mike Sanger  Cani comici Troupe acrobatique di Shenyang Acrobazie aeree agli elastici Carter Brown Giocoliere Tino e Tony Mano a mano comico Emile Smith  Leopardi Smart Yasmine e Dany Cesar Alta scuola e cavalleria Les Rossyann Clowns Probst Rudy Orsi Troupe acrobatica di Pyongyang Trapezio volante Sarvat Begbudi  Giocoliere a cavallo - Tigri Team Rosa Charivari Oz Brothers Cascatori Mieke Probst  Animali della fattoria Ayak Brothers Quadro aereo Pepito Alvarez  Giocoliere Leoni di Shenyang Acrobati Nouvelle experience SOLEIL Contorsioniste Duo Pyongyang  Doppio trapezio Kravtsov Sbarrirsti Wendell Huber Elefanti e cani San Bernardo Dimitrovi Altalena

NOUVELLE EXPERIENCE

TROUPE DI PYONGYANG

TROUPE DI SHENYANG

WENDEL HUBER

TINO E TONI

SARVAT BEGBUDI

YASMINE SMART

EMILE SMITH

SARVAT BEGBUDI GIOCOLIERE A CAVALLO

I Rossyann

Probst Maike

Tino e Toni sul podio Credit della XVI edizione del Festival: - Patrick Hourdequin, Direttore artistico - Alain Frere, Consigliere artistico e relazioni con gli artisti - François Bronett, Consigliere tecnico - Regia degli spettacoli affidata al Circo Knie sotto la direzione di Franco Knie assistito da Robert Neeser e Patrick Rosseel Info: montecarlofestival.mc ALMANACCO DEL FESTIVAL DI MONTECARLO – 16° EDIZIONE 1992 Se questo articolo ti è piaciuto condividilo sui tuoi social utilizzando i bottoni che trovi qui sotto Read the full article

[vtgbooks]

PIERRE PROBST Puff The Blue Kitten Vintage Little Golden Book Vintage Cat Book

[houseofcatwic]

Puff the Blue Kitten, 1961 pictures by Pierre Probst.

[antiqueanimals]

Pierre Probst (1913-2007)

[alter-koker]

[fredandrieu]

[frenchcurious]

Enid Blyton - ''Bimbo and Blackie Go Camping'', couverture de Pierre Probst, années 1950 - Source The Golden Age of Illustration.

[holespoles]

Dutch 70s Childrens Book Caroline on the moon (Caroline op de maan)

Pierre Probst

[uwmspeccoll]

Another Caturday-Baturday Combo

We know that this illustration is called “The Bone Structure of Mammals,” but the focus is clearly on cats and bats . . . perfect for another Caturday/Baturday mash-up!

This image is from The World of Animals published in 1963 in Racine, Wisconsin by Whitman Publishing Co., which we highlighted in a previous Baturday post. The book includes a text by Mary Holmes and illustrations by the noted French illustrator and cartoonist Pierre Probst.

View more posts relating to the Whitman Publishing Company.

View more Caturday posts.

View more Baturday posts.

[dailymeruem]

Royal Guard Nomenclature

You might know the Royal Guards for having some creative names, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably read HxH Wiki trivia on where the names came from. However, I haven’t seen any comprehensive post getting right into it, so lets have some fun research time and look into the origins of the Chimera Ant Royal Guard’s namesakes and how they might have affected Togashi’s characterizations of them! 

While i’m trying to keep everything as brief as I can, this will be a longer post so if you want to gain some knowledge and kill some time, read on! I’ve linked sources throughout the post for further research!

Naming Origin Sources

All three of the Guard’s names - Neferpitou, Shaiapouf, and Menthuthuyoupi, respectively- were chosen by the Chimera Ant Queen prior to their birth in the story. They are mashups from two sources - Ancient Egyptian mythology, specifically the pantheon of traditional gods and goddesses, and a French children’s book series entitled Caroline et ses amis (Caroline and her Friends) written by Pierre Probst. 

The Guard x Egyptian Gods

In Ancient Egyptian life, people worshiped a large number of deities which represented natural forces and phenomena (sunlight, life, childbirth, etc). The people regularly offered sacrifices and performed rituals to please the gods so that these forces would continue to function according to divine order (ma’at). Each god or goddess had complex relationships, characteristics, and symbolism associated with them. {x}

Neferpitou x Nefertem

The first half of Neferpitou’s name, “Nefer-”, is derived from the Egyptian deity Nefertem. A very ancient god by Egyptian mythos standards, this god is associated with the lotus flower, as he was believed to have emerged in a water lily from the primal waters at the creation of the world. He also represented the first sunlight and the lovely smell of the Egyptian blue lotus. Nefertem is usually depicted as a young, beautiful man, and sports titles such as “He Who Is Beautiful” and “Water Lily of the Sun”. {x}  {x}

In HxH, Neferpitou is the first Royal Guard to be born, which ties in nicely to Nefertem’s being a very early god born from the creation of the world as well as being associated with the first sunlight. As for the beauty aspect, Neferpitou’s androgynous appearance could play into this factor, as some gods in the Egyptian creation myths were depicted as androgynous.

Nefertem’’s mother is often credited as being Bast/Bastet, the guardian goddess of cats, or Sekhmet, the warrior goddess of healing (both goddesses are often considered to be two aspects of the same goddess). These goddesses are both depicted with cat or lioness heads, and so Nefertem is often depicted with a lion’s head or as a lion. I needn’t say more about this tie to Neferpitou! Aside from the cat aspect, Sekhmet’s being a goddess that both goes to war and heals is reflected in Pitou’s dual nature- both a ruthless killing machine in their own right and with their Terpsichora ability making instant armies, and a reliable healer using the Doctor Blythe ability, showcasing a compassionate side. {x} {x}

Shaiapouf x Shai

Shaiapouf’s Egyptian name component comes from Shai, which, interestingly, is not so much an entity as it is a concept- the deification of the concept of Fate. The name Shai is usually translated as “that which is ordained”. This god was said to determine the span of each person’s life; he was with each person at their birth and remained with them through their life until their final judgement in the underworld (duat). Shai would offer the true life story of the individual at their judgement, and could either protect or damn them. This deity has so much power in the Egyptian mythos that even pharaohs and other gods were subject to it.  {x} {x}

Now, although Shaiapouf as a character doesn’t have an omnipotent power over fate, the concept of fate runs really strong in Pouf’s characterization. Pouf, along with the other Royal Guards, was present at King Meruem’s birth, and intended to stay at his side throughout his whole life, guiding and protecting him. This is a role that Pouf seemed to take to heart, almost to an extreme. As we know, Pouf saw the King’s destiny of becoming the ruler of the world and dominating all other species as being absolute, and began to actively work against the Guard and even the King himself when he began to stray from the fate that Pouf had “preordained” for him. Going so far as to attempt to kill Komugi, who was the most important person to the King, Pouf’s actions, although out of a motivation to protect the King, would have been damning for the King had he succeeded.

Shaiapouf’s nen ability, Spiritual Message, gives us a hint as to his namesake as well. The god Shai hid nothing from Osiris (god of the underworld) at the final judgement of that person’s life, and so does Pouf’s ability allow him to see the absolute truth about a person’s emotional state by reading their flow of aura. This gives Pouf the ability to come to conclusions about that person’s personality, thoughts, and possible course of action, seemingly allowing him to predict their “fate”. {x} 

Also, this may be a trivial fact, but Pouf has the habit of ending his sentences with, “That’s all there is to it”. A very final and fateful statement indeed.

Being a concept, Shai is neither male nor female, but is more often depicted as being male. In this form, he is often said to be married to Renenutet (cobra goddess of child rearing who gave newborn babies secret names), or Meskhenet (goddess of childbirth). These three are often depicted together which gives us a definite picture of the cycle of birth and death. {x}  {x}

In HxH, after Meruem is mortally wounded by the Miniature Rose Bomb, we get the lovely and terrifying experience of seeing Pouf and Youpi feed themselves to the King in order to revive him. In this scene, both guards are ecstatic as they have ascended to the level of a Chimera Ant Queen and are filled with an unconditional motherly love for their King. The ties here between this occurrence and these trifecta of gods associated with birth and life are pretty strong.

A few final small factoids: The Greek people associated Shai with their god Agathodaemon, a god of fortunetelling that was considered to be a serpent. As well, the word Shai was also an Egyptian word for “Pig”. Thus, Shai was sometimes depicted as a serpent-headed pig, also called the Shai animal. I am reminded of the time Pouf was shown to be able to rearrange his cells to impersonate a certain blind Gungi player.

Menthuthuyoupi x Montu

The final Royal Guard, Menthuthuyoupi, bears the name of Montu, a very powerful and ancient god in the Egyptian pantheon. Montu (also written as Monthu or Menthu, the latter which Youpi uses in his name) originally was a manifestation of the scorching effects of the sun (Ra), but over time this was modified to mean destructiveness in battle, which led to Montu being known as a god of war. He was said to attack the enemies of cosmic order (ma’at).Montu is usually depicted with a falcon head or a bull head. Falcons were a symbol of the sky, and bulls symbolized strength and war. {x}  {x}

Montu was often linked with other gods and is depicted as a fusion of those gods. For instance, because of his association with Ra, he often appears as Montu-Ra. Occassionally he is linked to Atum (another creator god) and Set (god of scary natural phenomena and deserts). Over time, Montu was also linked to Horus, a god associated with the pharaoh, and therefore Montu is sometimes seen as being a symbol of a Pharaoh as a ruler and conqueror.

In HxH, Menthuthuyoupi definitely embodies the warlike aspect of his namesake. Being the only guard not made from human genetic material, he is able to act on instinct and devote himself completely to being a soldier for the King, attacking anyone who threatened the King’s divine rule. Being immensely powerful, Youpi was capable of immense damage with his Rage Blast and Rage Incarnate nen abilities. As well, just as Montu gradually evolved over time to represent more complex aspects of life in Ancient Egypt, so too did Youpi evolve over the course of the Chimera Ant Arc, which gave his life new and more complex meaning.

The many forms Montu can take reminds us of Youpi’s unique Metamorphosis ability, which allows him to change any part of his body at will to suit his needs. Youpi’s Rage Incarnate form, in which his body takes the worm of a winged centaur, is a callback to Montu’s two most common depictions; as a Falcon (Youpi’s wings), and as a Bull (Youpi’s hooves). {x}

One of Montu’s wives was thought to be Tjenenet, another goddess of childbirth, which has ties to the event of Meruem’s rebirth discussed in Shaiapouf’s section above.

An interesting tidbit of info is that Montu was sometimes though to be a guardian of family life. He is sometimes mentioned in marriage documents to enforce commitment; infidelity is described as “the abomination of Montu”. While this doesn’t really have anything to do with Menthuthuyoupi aside from maybe reflecting in his loyalty to the King, the next time you feel tempted to cheat on your significant other, imagining a frowning Youpi may dissuade you.

One thing that each Royal Guard has in common with all of their Egyptian namesakes is that all strive to support what they see as the Divine Order using their individual strengths, even if their methods of supporting this order greatly differ.

The Guard x Caroline et ses amis

The Caroline series is a series of French childrens picture books, or albums, written and illustrated by Pierre Probst. There are 44 books in the series, which were written from 1953 to 2007. They follow Caroline, a little blond girl who is independent and active, and her 8 mischievous animal friends, who talk like humans. The series was adapted into an animated TV show titled Caroline et ses amis in 1994, which is most likely the source Togashi got the names for the Royal Guards from (and you can find on youtube!)  {x} {x}

Neferpitou x Pitou

Pitou is one of the 8 animal characters in Caroline. Pitou is a panther, and he appeared in a collection called “Les Albums roses” (The Pink Albums) in 1952, which were a precursor to the Caroline books, thus making Pitou the first character of the future Caroline series. Pitou is characterized as being lazy and cunning.

In HxH, our Neferpitou was the first of the Chimera Ant Royal Guard to be born, just as Pitou was the first character that began the Caroline series. Both of them being a cat is also a very obvious connection that both share. While there are other cats in the Caroline series, Pitou being a panther harkens to Neferpitou’s wild nature. Caroline’s Pitou being both lazy and cunning are character traits that show up in HxH’s Pitou as well; we see them exhibit extreme intellect in science, military strategy and manipulation, but at the same time they are the most playful of the Guard and get distracted very easily.

Shaiapouf x Pouf

Pouf is a white kitten that wears a blue bowtie. He is characterized as being elegant, snobbish, and eccentric. He is prone to going on rants about his dreams of greatness, much to the annoyance of everyone else, and he has little quirks such as hating water and the cold.

If it weren’t for the physical description, you might have thought I was describing HxH’s Pouf- he too is elegant, snobbish and eccentric and often goes on long, intellectual rants, which are mostly never followed by the rest of the guard. Shaiapouf is also always wearing a flowy white dress shirt that features a bowtie-like collar which is reminiscent of Pouf’s white fur and bowtie. While Shaiapouf isn’t known to hate water or cold, he does manifest peculiar quirks such as melodramatic monologues and playing his violin when he is upset.

Menthuthuyoupi x Youpi

Youpi (also spelled Yupi), is a cocker spaniel dog. He is naive, turbulent, and a little bit grumpy, but also generous, devoted and affectionate. He can be fearful and prefers staying home to going out on adventure. He really likes being cuddled by Caroline, the main character.

Menthuthuyoupi in HxH displays a lot of similar characteristics to his namesake: naive, turbulent, and devoted are all adjectives you could use to describe him. Because of Menthuthuyoupi’s lack of ego, he is solely devoted to the King and his divine destiny, not bothering to give a thought to other courses of action, which could be a reflection of Caroline’s Youpi prefering to remain in the safety of home. After Meruem’s revival, when Youpi and Pouf share a affectionate spiritual bond with him, Youpi is shown to cherish the new bond he has with his King, just as Caroline’s Youpi is affectionate towards Caroline.

~~~

One thing that all the Royal Guard share with their Caroline namesakes is that both sets of characters unquestioningly follow an independent leader character that they love and support. As well, in the case of Neferpitou and Shaiapouf, their manner of dress is a homage to Caroline- Pouf dresses in a very elegant and frilly ensemble, very French of him, in my opinion- and Pitou’s outfit is reminicent of both an old school French military uniform and a child’s school uniform.

A bonus Caroline homage in HxH: The titular character Caroline is famously depicted with her pigtail hairstyle. A certain blind Gungi player is also famously shown sporting a similar hairstyle.

Bonus Section: Meruem’s Name

Although not containing as much lore as his Royal Guard, the King’s given name can give us a few fun tidbits in keeping with the etymology of the Guard.

As you know, in-universe, the Chimera Ant Queen states her son’s name, Meruem, to mean “the light that illuminates/shines on everything”. His name is very close to the common Arabic name, Maryam (مريم), which has multiple romanized spellings. The most notable use of this name is in Biblical history as a form of the name Mary, who was the mother of Jesus, and Miriam, who was the sister of Moses. 

It is thought that the name might have roots originating in the Egyptian language; the words “mry” (beloved) and “mr” (love) are thought to have been derivatives of the name.This root meaning would work in portraying the love that the Ant Queen had for her son, even before birth.

Other scholars have thought that the Hebrew root words “mr” (bitter) or “mry” (rebellious) were the basis of the name in the case of Miriam, as she was born at a point in history when the nation of Israel was subject to bitter slavery by the Egyptians. “Bitter” and "Rebellious” might be words you could use to describe Meruem, at least when he is first introduced to us. {x} {x}

Other fun tidbits: Meruem’s characteristic “neutral” face expression, young and feminine facial structure, and characteristic “cat eyes” is very reminiscent to a lot of ancient Egyptian art. One that stands out in my mind is the famous Head of Nefertem statue, found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun, which depicts the Pharaoh in question as a child in the form of the god Nefertem (remember him?). Interestingly, both Meruem and Tutankhamen were kings that ascended the throne (and died) very early in their lives. I’ll let you look at the piece and notice the similarities yourself!

~~~~~~

And that about does it for all the conclusions I’ve drawn. I hope you enjoyed reading through this and that it prompted you to do some reading and research of your own! Togashi chocked HxH full of fun little references to things in our real world, and it’s so much fun to do a deep dive to find all this trivia. If you think of/find any other fun things too add to this post, feel free to reply/reblog with additions. Cheers!

[moonracer7]

The royal guards get the first half of their names from Egyptian gods (Nefertem, Shai, Menthu). The second half, and their nicknames, come from characters from a series of children’s books illustrated by French cartoonist Pierre Probst about a girl named Caroline and her animal friends.

From the French Wikipedia page, using google translate:

Pitou is a leopard cub, “lazy and cunning”

Pouf is a white kitten with a blue bow tie, “elegant, a little snobbish, wacky”

Youpi is a cocker spaniel puppy, “turbulent, a little grumpy, but very generous, devoted and affectionate”