Meek Stock No. 85 "Griselda"

General
Along with Mildred (No. 80), No. 85 “Griselda” was a very successful “Victorian Lady” design and one of Meek/American Art Works most popular and enduring stock designs. Without any advertising text that includes a date it’s hard to say exactly how long it was available in the catalog, but it must have been several years. At a minimum from its introduction in 1907 until some time in 1910 after the name change from Meek to American Art Works (some examples say “American Art Works, successors to the Meek Co”).

Griselda is a feminine given name from Germanic sources that is now used in English, Italian, and Spanish as well. It has been suggested that the name originated from Old English "gris hild", meaning "dark battle" or “grey battle”. It is also suggested that the name Zelda is derived from Griselda. Griselda is a famous folklore figure, noted for her patience and obedience. Her story has been told by Petrarch, Chaucer, Boccaccio and set to music by Scarlatti, Vivaldi and Massenet. In the most famous telling of her story, Griselda's husband tests her fidelity and obedience three times. Once at the birth of her daughter, whom he asks Griselda to give up to be put to death. Griselda agrees. Her husband asks the same of their second child, a son. Again, Griselda agrees. Finally, her husband renounces her to marry another. Uncomplainingly, Griselda leaves. Eventually her husband reveals that he was testing her, and surprises her by showing her her alive and well children and taking her back in. Somehow we don’t believe that husbands today could get away with this sort of “testing.”

Some of the sign versions and a few trays (Joseph Marx & White Eagle Brewery) bear the signature “Geyer” in the edge of her hair. We assume this was the Austrian painter Bruno Geyer who was responsible for some other designs like #79 (Marianne). This may be the last design based on work by an external artwork purchase by Jasper Meek on one of his buying trips to Europe. Later stock designs carrying artist signatures, such as William McEntee (No. 110, Rose of Killarney) are by American artists.

Sahling has an entry for “Stock tray No. 85 “Griselda” in September 1907, which was the last stock design he executed in 1907 after a string of them earlier in the year.

Size & Shape
As a tray, No. 85 comes in a variety of size/shapes including convex pie, concave pie, oval (only known as a no advertising version) and square. This further indicates that the design remained in the catalog for an extended period of time. As a sign, it appears in curled corner format, but interestingly we’ve never encountered a tin-over-cardboard (TOC) variety. There is a round (unpressed tray) version out there too. There is a Dresden Art Plate version, and it was quite popular as a tip tray where there are two versions: one similar to the full-sized tray and another one focused on the head/face.

Hager & Price
Hager does not discuss this design other than in his broader discussion of designs used on Dresden Art Plates and his table of release dates. He does include it in his catalog. Comparatively, prices for this design are relatively low (with a few exceptions), probably because it is so ubiquitous and there are numerous examples out there. The example from Gambrinus Brewery in Portland OR occurring most frequently amongst breweries. In keeping with the pattern of other design, breweries significantly outperform non-breweries.