Studies for 'He succeeds, but the fish nips his fingers' thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Studies for 'He succeeds, but the fish nips his fingers'

Drawing
1894 (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.

The sketches on this sheet are preparatory studies for Potter’s series of drawings ‘A Frog He Would a-Fishing Go’, in particular the illustration ‘He succeeds, but the fish nips his fingers’.

The illustrations were inspired by the gentleman frog in Randolph Caldecott’s picture book, A Frog He Would a-Wooing Go, printed by Edmund Evans for George Routledge in 1883 and later for Frederick Warne in 1895. In February 1884, Rupert Potter, Beatrix’s father, purchased two pen and ink drawings by Caldecott made in preparation for this book. Beatrix Potter intended her drawings for A Frog He Would a-Fishing Go to be published as a booklet, however, having approached the firm of Ernest Nister was told ‘I am a little doubtful of whether we can take it, we certainly cannot make a booklet of it as people do not want frogs now. The only way in which we could use it would be as a double page in our ‘Annual’…’ Following some negotiation, most of the drawings were purchased by Ernest Nister for publication; in 1896 they were published in Nister’s Holiday Annual and in Comical Customers at the New Stores of Comical Rhymes and Stories.

The story eventually developed into The Tale of Jeremy Fisher, which was published by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1906.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleStudies for 'He succeeds, but the fish nips his fingers'
Materials and techniques
pencil on paper
Brief description
Studies relating to 'A Frog He Would a-Fishing Go', by Beatrix Potter, 1894; Linder Bequest cat. no. LB.1049.
Physical description
A sketch of a frog an a fish in a boat, with an unfinished sketch of the frog to the left of the larger study.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 63mm
  • Sheet width: 188mm
Style
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
'15' (Written in pencil, upper right.)
Credit line
Linder Bequest [plus object number; written on labels on the same line as the object number]
Object history
Drawn by Beatrix Potter in 1894. 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.

The sketches on this sheet are preparatory studies for Potter’s series of drawings ‘A Frog He Would a-Fishing Go’, in particular the illustration ‘He succeeds, but the fish nips his fingers’.

The illustrations were inspired by the gentleman frog in Randolph Caldecott’s picture book, A Frog He Would a-Wooing Go, printed by Edmund Evans for George Routledge in 1883 and later for Frederick Warne in 1895. In February 1884, Rupert Potter, Beatrix’s father, purchased two pen and ink drawings by Caldecott made in preparation for this book. Beatrix Potter intended her drawings for A Frog He Would a-Fishing Go to be published as a booklet, however, having approached the firm of Ernest Nister was told ‘I am a little doubtful of whether we can take it, we certainly cannot make a booklet of it as people do not want frogs now. The only way in which we could use it would be as a double page in our ‘Annual’…’ Following some negotiation, most of the drawings were purchased by Ernest Nister for publication; in 1896 they were published in Nister’s Holiday Annual and in Comical Customers at the New Stores of Comical Rhymes and Stories.

The story eventually developed into The Tale of Jeremy Fisher, which was published by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1906.
Bibliographic references
  • 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.119; no.1049 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.119; no.1049
  • L. Linder, A History of the Writings of Beatrix Potter. (London : Frederick Warne & Co, 1987 reprint). p.181 L. Linder, A History of the Writings of Beatrix Potter. (London : Frederick Warne & Co, 1987 reprint). p.181
Other number
LB.1049 - Linder Bequest catalogue no.
Collection
Library number
BP.1263(iv)

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Record createdAugust 24, 2016
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