Printer's proof of the coloured frontispiece of 'Peter Rabbit'
Proof
13th August 1901 (made)
13th August 1901 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Beatrix Potter 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.
At first publishers rejected Beatrix Potter’s manuscript of ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor’s Garden’ so she decided to publish the story herself in an edition of 250 copies with black and white illustrations and a colour frontispiece. This proof of the frontispiece, featuring Mrs Rabbit bringing camomile tea to Peter, is stamped with the date 13th August 1901 and relates to the privately printed edition of the book. It includes ink notes written by Beatrix Potter. By the time the privately printed edition was published in December 1901 Frederick Warne had agreed to publish the story the following year as ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’, the version with colour illustrations that many of us know today.
At first publishers rejected Beatrix Potter’s manuscript of ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor’s Garden’ so she decided to publish the story herself in an edition of 250 copies with black and white illustrations and a colour frontispiece. This proof of the frontispiece, featuring Mrs Rabbit bringing camomile tea to Peter, is stamped with the date 13th August 1901 and relates to the privately printed edition of the book. It includes ink notes written by Beatrix Potter. By the time the privately printed edition was published in December 1901 Frederick Warne had agreed to publish the story the following year as ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’, the version with colour illustrations that many of us know today.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Printer's proof of the coloured frontispiece of 'Peter Rabbit' (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Three-colour process, printing ink on paper |
| Brief description | Print. Printer's proof of the coloured frontispiece of 'Peter Rabbit', designed by Beatrix Potter, printed by Hentschel-Colourtype, ca. Aug 1901, inscribed by Beatrix Potter and stamped 13 Aug 1901. Linder Bequest cat. no. LB 916. |
| Physical description | Coloured proof of the frontispiece of 'Peter Rabbit' with Mrs Rabbit giving tea to Peter, who is in bed, under the covers. Inscriptions in black ink. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Limited edition |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Linder Bequest [plus object number; written on labels on the same line as the object number] |
| Object history | Printer's proof for the privately printed edition of 'Peter Rabbit', stamped with the date 13th August 1901. 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 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. At first publishers rejected Beatrix Potter’s manuscript of ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor’s Garden’ so she decided to publish the story herself in an edition of 250 copies with black and white illustrations and a colour frontispiece. This proof of the frontispiece, featuring Mrs Rabbit bringing camomile tea to Peter, is stamped with the date 13th August 1901 and relates to the privately printed edition of the book. It includes ink notes written by Beatrix Potter. By the time the privately printed edition was published in December 1901 Frederick Warne had agreed to publish the story the following year as ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’, the version with colour illustrations that many of us know today. |
| 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.99; no.916
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.99; no.916 |
| Other number | LB.916 - Linder Bequest catalogue no. |
| Collection | |
| Library number | BP.586 |
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| Record created | October 29, 2015 |
| Record URL |
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