Rabbits falling into snow thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Rabbits falling into snow

Watercolour
ca. 1890s (drawn)
Artist/Maker

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) is one of the world's best-loved children's authors and illustrators. She wrote the majority of the twenty-three Original Peter Rabbit Books between 1901 and 1913. The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Frederick Warne, 1902) is her most famous and best-loved tale.

In 1890 Beatrix Potter and her brother, Bertram, hoped to buy a printing machine. Bertram suggested that Beatrix sell her imaginary drawings to raise funds. The printer Hildesheimer & Faulkner purchased six designs from Beatrix and printed them as Christmas and New Year cards. Potter made numerous other imaginary drawings in the 1890s but this unfinished design has something in common with the Hildesheimer & Faulkner designs in terms of subject matter – many of the cards featured rabbits in snow - and may have been made with a greetings card design in mind. The humour and accurate depictions of animal anatomy seen in Potter’s imaginary watercolours of the 1890s anticipate her later book illustrations.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleRabbits falling into snow
Materials and techniques
watercolour, pen and ink and pencil on paper
Brief description
Unfinished watercolour, ink and pencil drawing of two rabbits falling from their toboggan into the snow, by Beatrix Potter, ca. 1890s; Linder Bequest cat. no. LB.1009.
Physical description
Two rabbits in bluish jackets partially completed in ink and watercolour, shown falling from a toboggan; the snow and tobaggon are roughly denoted in pencil.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 135mm
  • Sheet width: 210mm
Style
Production typeUnique
Credit line
Linder Bequest [plus object number; written on labels on the same line as the object number]
Object history
Acquired by the V&A from Leslie Linder (1904-1973) in 1973 as part of the Linder Bequest, a collection of ca. 2150 watercolours, drawings, literary manuscripts, correspondence, books, photographs, and other memorabilia associated with Beatrix Potter and her family.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) is one of the world's best-loved children's authors and illustrators. She wrote the majority of the twenty-three Original Peter Rabbit Books between 1901 and 1913. The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Frederick Warne, 1902) is her most famous and best-loved tale.

In 1890 Beatrix Potter and her brother, Bertram, hoped to buy a printing machine. Bertram suggested that Beatrix sell her imaginary drawings to raise funds. The printer Hildesheimer & Faulkner purchased six designs from Beatrix and printed them as Christmas and New Year cards. Potter made numerous other imaginary drawings in the 1890s but this unfinished design has something in common with the Hildesheimer & Faulkner designs in terms of subject matter – many of the cards featured rabbits in snow - and may have been made with a greetings card design in mind. The humour and accurate depictions of animal anatomy seen in Potter’s imaginary watercolours of the 1890s anticipate her later book illustrations.
Bibliographic reference
Hobbs, Anne Stevenson, and Joyce Irene Whalley, eds. Beatrix Potter: the V & A collection : the Leslie Linder bequest of Beatrix Potter material : watercolours, drawings, manuscripts, books, photographs and memorabilia. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1985. p.112; no.1009 Hobbs, Anne Stevenson, and Joyce Irene Whalley, eds. Beatrix Potter: the V & A collection: the Leslie Linder bequest of Beatrix Potter material: watercolours, drawings, manuscripts, books, photographs and memorabilia. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1985. p.112; no.1009
Other number
LB.1009 - Linder Bequest catalogue no.
Collection
Library number
BP.1256

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Record createdAugust 5, 2016
Record URL
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