Preston Pub Sign Studies The Fox And Grapes

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This pub has had at least two good relevant inn signs, and I captured the earlier one on a visit to Preston about five years ago, soon after starting to collect inn sign images. The pub is located on Fox Street and grapes are an obvious ingredient of wines so the name seems rather obvious in origin. It also has strong associations with a well-known beast fable by Aesop. In the story, a wily fox sees grapes hanging from the vine and tries to get to them, only to fail. The fox then goes away dismissing the grapes as probably sour anyway. The phrase ‘sour grapes’ associated with a poor loser is rooted in the story. Here, the fox is up on the branches with the grapes so he seems to have attained his goal. The pub promises its wine-grapes are not sour and its clients have no reason to be embittered or feel defeated. The earlier sign shows the fox leaping over the grapes so again, they are not outside its grasp. The odd thing is that foxes prefer meat to fruit. Arthur Chappell