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| A few of the mags our articles have been featured in. |
Today,
28th July 2016 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix
Potter. A name that we've all grown up with, loving her characters
and stories.
The
team of Ann and Rob here at Words & Images wrote the following
article a while back for antiques magazine, Collect It.
Once
upon a time – a hundred and ten years ago, in fact… there was a
frog called Mr Jeremy Fisher; he lived in a little damp house amongst
the buttercups at the edge of a pond…
And
so began the story of one of the most beloved characters created by
author, illustrator and scientist, Beatrix Potter who celebrates her
150th
birthday, today (1866-1943).
And
it’s a hundred and ten years since The
Tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher was first
published by Frederick Warne & Co. Prior to this of course, in
1902 Beatrix Potter’s most famous book, The
Tale of Peter Rabbit had been
published, enchanting children and adults of that Edwardian era just
as much as they are adored by children and adults of the 21st
century.
One
hundred and ten years ago, The Tale of
Mr Jeremy Fisher would have cost just a
few pence. In fact when Beatrix Potter found her stories turned down
by publisher after publisher, she decided to print the little books
herself. She ordered 250 copies and sold them to her friends and
family for a penny or two. Should you be fortunate enough to possess
a book from that batch, you would be around £50,000 better off.
Born
on July 28th, 1866 in Kensington, London, Beatrix was brought up by a
nurse, and educated at home by a series of governesses. She saw her
parents only at bedtimes and on special occasions. When she was six
years old, her brother Bertram was born.
Beatrix
and her family took their summer holidays in Scotland and the Lake
District, and it was here that her love of nature grew. Beatrix and
her little brother would explore the woods and fields, they caught
and tamed wild creatures, and learned to care about wildlife and the
countryside.
Beatrix
covered pages with her sketches of fungi, flowers and small
creatures, including her own pets. The pair had quite a
menagerie of pets which they kept in the schoolroom – including at
one stage, a green frog and a rabbit. Almost all of her famous
characters are based on her own pets.
She
first created the character of Peter Rabbit in a now famous picture
letter whilst when holidaying in Eastwood, Dunkeld. On September 4th,
1893 Beatrix sat down to write a picture letter to Noel Moore, the
five-year-old son of her former governess who was ill in bed. She
wrote:
“My
dear Noel, I don’t know what to write to you, so I shall tell you a
story about four little rabbits…
The
letter was later to become The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The
following day she wrote a letter to Noel’s brother, Eric, about a
frog called Jeremy Fisher. The famous letters are now being carefully
treasured in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
It
was some years later that Beatrix thought of publishing the story as
a book. She rewrote it into an exercise book and sent it to six
publishers - and was rejected by every one of them. Finally she
decided to have it printed herself. Only then did publisher,
Frederick Warne agreed to publish it. The Tale of Peter Rabbit was
published in 1902, costing one shilling and became one of the most
famous stories ever written.
Today
The Tale of Peter Rabbit is fifth in the Guardian’s top 100
valuable books, valued at £50,000. A first edition of The Tale of
Mr Jeremy Fisher is also in the top 100, numbered a joint 75th,
with the book valued at between £4,000-£6,000.
It’s
always worth keeping an eye out for a bargain however, as spotted
recently on the Internet was a first edition of The Tale of Mr
Jeremy Fisher in ‘fair condition’ as it had some repairs to
it, priced at just £125.
These
famous tales weren’t Beatrix’s first venture into publishing
however. Her very first book was called A
Happy Pair, the illustrations for which
were created in 1890. It was published in 1893 by Hildesheimer &
Faulkner and included her Christmas card illustrations and poetry by
a Frederic Weatherly. Only a handful of copies exist. One however was
sold at Sotheby’s in 2001 for £23,250.
It’s
not just her books that are collector’s items, sketches too fetch
incredible prices. In 2003, for example, two early watercolours by
Beatrix Potter were sold for more than £40,000 at Bonham’s, New
Bond Street salesroom, London. These pictures were thought to have
been painted in 1892 or 1893 but were never published. They were snow
scenes both involving two rabbits wearing blue and red jackets.
That
same year, a visitor to the Antiques Roadshow was astounded to
discover their collection of 23 Beatrix Potter drawings and
watercolours was valued at £250,000. The owner’s grandfather knew
Beatrix Potter's brother who farmed in the Borders quite near to the
artist's home. Many of the pictures pre-dated Peter Rabbit, and some
were only half finished, which nevertheless didn’t make them any
less interesting. The pictures showed small animals such as kittens,
mice and rabbits set in human form.
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