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88 POTTER, Beatrix. The Tale of Peter Rabbit. London & New York, Frederick Warne & Co., [c.1909] Signed by the author at a difficult time Later edition, signed and dated by the author on the front free endpaper, “Beatrix Potter Dec 29th 32”. Signed copies of the first Peter Rabbit book are not common. December 1932 had been a difficult month for Beatrix Potter. On 18 December she wrote to Alexander McKay, “I hope you and your family are having a Merry Christmas. I am not. My old mother is refusing to die” ( Letters , p. 352). Helen Potter eventually died two days later. Beatrix Potter produced a number of different endpaper designs which can help date early reprints. This copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit includes a right-hand endpaper showing Tom Kitten in the first state (Linder’s plate 57) first used in August 1908 and abandoned by July 1910. The left-hand endpaper shows Jeremy Fisher rather than a guineapig (Linder’s plate 4) first used in September 1907 and abandoned by July 1909. We can therefore suggest a date range of August 1908 to July 1909. Sextodecimo. Original green boards, spine and front cover lettered in white, front cover with pictorial label, illustrated endpapers. Frontispiece and 26 colour illustrations by the author. Bookplate of Margaret Cohen on pastedown and with her ownership signature at the top of the front free endpaper. Minor tear at head of spine, some minor abrasions to covers, foxing to top edge, small tear to foot of frontispiece; a very good and bright copy. ¶ Leslie Linder, A History of the Writings of Beatrix Potter , 1987; Judy Taylor, Beatrix Potter’s Letters , 2001. £5,250 [156823]
87 POTTER, Beatrix. The Tale of Peter Rabbit. London: Frederick Warne and Co., [1902] deluxe issue First trade edition, deluxe issue. It is believed to be one of 2,000 copies issued in cloth from the first 8,000; there were two colours for the deluxe issue, yellow and green. Regular copies were issued in printed boards. With the original leaf-pattern endpapers and with “wept big tears” on p. 51 (the text reading “cried big tears” in the privately printed edition; “wept big tears” in the first three impressions of the trade edition; and “shed big tears” from the fourth impression onwards). Sextodecimo. Original green cloth, spine and front cover lettered in brown, front cover with pictorial label, grey leaf-patterned endpapers, top edge gilt. Housed in a custom grey chemise and grey cloth folding box. Frontispiece and 30 colour illustrations by the author. Spine rolled and sunned, boards gently bowed, mark to rear cover, front hinge split at ends, rear inner hinge split at head. A very good copy. ¶ Linder, p. 421; Quinby 2. £12,500 [109449]
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89 POTTER, Beatrix. “After losing his shoes, Peter ran on four legs and went faster”. 1927 Original artwork Beatrix Potter’s recreation of an illustration of Peter Rabbit, abandoned for the trade edition and only present (as a black and white line drawing) in the author’s privately printed edition of her most famous work. This is one of the original drawings created by the artist and sold in America to raise money for the National Trust. In 1927 a strip of Lake Windermere’s shore, Cockshott Point, was threatened and the National Trust undertook an urgent appeal for money. Potter wished to help raise funds to ensure that the land was never developed but was unable even to persuade her mother to contribute (although her house overlooked the Point). Potter therefore decided to raise money by selling some of her pictures in America. “She sent fifty signed copies of drawings of Peter Rabbit to the editor of Horn Book Magazine , Miss Bertha Mahony in August 1927. Miss Mahony sold the drawings on behalf of the National Trust at a guinea each, and there were requests for more drawings, the final sum
raised was £104, a substantial donation to the appeal” (Taylor, Whalley, Hobbs, & Battick). The pictures were sold at the Boys & Girls Bookshop on Boylston Street, Boston. Provenance: 1) bought by Hilda D. Atterberg (1896–1992) at the Bookshop for Boys & Girls on Boylston Street, Boston, in 1927, with her signed autograph letter attesting as much, dated 20 March 1992; Miss Atterberg worked in the Rochester, NY Public Library; the drawing was given by her in 1944 to 2) Ruth L. Adams (1912–1993), who had worked in the Rochester Library for nine years, as a leaving gift on the occasion of her moving to develop a children’s department at the Schenectady County Public Library, with her autograph note to that effect; 3) Peter Harrington; 4) The Schøyen Collection. Original drawing (35 × 48 mm) on paper (160 × 130 mm), ink and watercolour, signed and dated (“Beatrix Potter Aug 1927”) lower right together with caption and note (“This design appears in the first edition of Peter Rabbit”), mounted, framed, and glazed. Book label for the Schøyen Collection on reverse. Some toning, loss to top left corner and tear not affecting image. ¶ Taylor, Whalley, Hobbs, & Battick, Beatrix Potter 1866–1943 , pp. 193–4. £22,500 [156827]
All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
CHILDREN’S BOOKS & ORIGINAL ARTWORK
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