Studies of guinea pigs for a picture story
Drawing
ca. 1890s (drawn)
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.
Beatrix Potter made many imaginary drawings in the 1890s, before she published her books. Her picture series about a guinea pig, for which the sketches on this sheet are preparatory studies, may well date from this time. For the more finished series of drawings, which Potter ordered and added captions to, see museum numbers BP.554(a) – BP.554(e). In the story we see an unfortunate guinea pig requiring some dental work. This sheet includes preparatory studies for both the third (right) and fourth (left) scenes, when the guinea pig with toothache suffers the dentist’s ‘operation’ and ‘the friend and the dentist take a professional interest in the tooth, but none whatever in the victim’.
Beatrix Potter made many imaginary drawings in the 1890s, before she published her books. Her picture series about a guinea pig, for which the sketches on this sheet are preparatory studies, may well date from this time. For the more finished series of drawings, which Potter ordered and added captions to, see museum numbers BP.554(a) – BP.554(e). In the story we see an unfortunate guinea pig requiring some dental work. This sheet includes preparatory studies for both the third (right) and fourth (left) scenes, when the guinea pig with toothache suffers the dentist’s ‘operation’ and ‘the friend and the dentist take a professional interest in the tooth, but none whatever in the victim’.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Studies of guinea pigs for a picture story |
| Materials and techniques | pencil on paper |
| Brief description | Preparatory study for a picture story about a guinea pig by Beatrix Potter, ca.1890s; Linder Bequest cat. no. LB.1055 |
| Physical description | Two preparatory studies. The study on the left shows two guinea pigs examining the others guinea pig's tooth, while the patient, slumped next to them, looks unwell. The study on the right is a back view of the 'dentist' guinea pig. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| 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. Beatrix Potter made many imaginary drawings in the 1890s, before she published her books. Her picture series about a guinea pig, for which the sketches on this sheet are preparatory studies, may well date from this time. For the more finished series of drawings, which Potter ordered and added captions to, see museum numbers BP.554(a) – BP.554(e). In the story we see an unfortunate guinea pig requiring some dental work. This sheet includes preparatory studies for both the third (right) and fourth (left) scenes, when the guinea pig with toothache suffers the dentist’s ‘operation’ and ‘the friend and the dentist take a professional interest in the tooth, but none whatever in the victim’. |
| 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.121; no.1055
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.121; no.1055 |
| Other number | LB.1055 - Linder Bequest catalogue no. |
| Collection | |
| Library number | BP.555(e) |
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| Record created | August 18, 2016 |
| Record URL |
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