Peter Rabbit Board game manufactured by The Traditional Games Company Ltd. for Frederick Warne & Co, UK, 1995

A square, card box containing the game board, playing pieces and printed material relating to the game. Blue fabric covers the outer surfaces of the box lid and on the top of the lid, printed in brown lettering is the inscription: 'THE GAME OF/ PETER RABBIT / BY / BEATRIX POTTER / F.WARNE & CO.' Underneath the game title there is a Peter Rabbit sticker, placed in the centre of a double ringed, brown circle. The typeface of the lettering and the image of Peter are the same as on the 1902 Tale of Peter Rabbit book cover. Fitted snugly inside the box base, a card insert holds the base of a smaller, card box in place. The smaller box houses the playing pieces: hand painted, moulded figurines of Peter Rabbit and Mr McGregor on square bases and twelve buttons, moulded in gold coloured plastic, with a smooth surface, made to look like Peter Rabbit's brass jacket buttons.

The lid of the smaller, inner box is covered in the same blue fabric and has the same Peter Rabbit sticker as the outer box lid.
The outer and inner box bases are covered in yellow paper.

The game board is thick card and the inner surface is covered with a printed facsimile of an original watercolour by Beatrix Potter, representing Mr. McGregor's garden. The back of the game board is covered in blue paper which is a printed version of the blue fabric covering the box lids. Unfolded, the board is split from the centre to one edge, enabling it to be folded into a square. When folded, one side of the square has printed onto it the same inscription and image of Peter as the outer box lid.

Printed material consists of:
· An information leaflet explaining the history of The Game of Peter Rabbit. On the cover is a black and white full length photograph of Beatrix Potter leading a rabbit on a piece of string.
· Two printed facsimiles of Beatrix Potter's handwritten rules for the game. Both sheets explain the rules, but each has different wording and layout.
· Printed facsimile of the letter sent in December 1904 from Beatrix Potter to Mr Warne outlining her ideas and design for The Game of Peter Rabbit.
· A printed facsimile of the illustrated letter sent in September 1893 from Beatrix Potter to Noel Moore. Two sheets of paper make up the letter, which is the origin of the Peter Rabbit story.
· Information sheet from The Traditional Games Company Ltd. explaining how to obtain replacement game parts.

Some of the printed material is too long to lie flat in the main box.

This game is a replica set of one of the Peter Rabbit games designed by his creator Beatrix Potter in 1904. Potter's publishers, Frederick Warne and Co, decided not to publish her game at the time and brought out their own version in 1919 which featured other Potter characters as well as Peter. Potter's idea of having just two playing pieces is mentioned in her letter to Mr Warne in December 1904, a facsimile of which is included in this game: 'I was wondering whether you would cut out two little wooden pawns, to represent Peter and Mr McGregor.'

This game contains other printed facsimiles of handwritten papers by Beatrix Potter, relating to the design and rules of her game as well as the letter that was the origin of The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

Rules:
"Peter, starting at the gate marked (G), must squeeze under the gate and then move from square to square, leaving behind brass buttons at the critical points of his adventure. Mr McGregor must chase Peter and try to catch him by landing on the same square. Peter's adventure includes a visit to the tool shed (T) where Mr McGregor 'tried to put his foot upon Peter', hiding in the watering can (W), and edging round the cucumber frame (Cu) where Peter met Mr McGregor for the first time! While Peter can move unrestricted through the game, Mr McGregor must stick to the pathways and not trespass onto the vegetable gardens Peter likes so much."

[Frederick Warne and Company 1995]

Peter Rabbit is a classic character from children's literature and has been the subject of toys and games since the early twentieth century. This game is a replica set of one of the Peter Rabbit games designed by his creator Beatrix Potter in 1904 and the board is a printed facsimile of Beatrix Potter's original watercolour representing Mr. McGregor's garden, the main scene of action in The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

Beatrix Potter's book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was first published in October 1902 and by the end of 1904, she had four more books published with over 150,000 copies sold. Potter was keen to develop merchandise based on her animal characters and on 7th December 1904 she submitted her idea for a board game 'The Game of Peter Rabbit' to her publishers, Frederick Warne and Co. "I think this is rather a good game," she wrote, "it is very simple, and the chances are strongly in favour of Peter."

Frederick Warne and Co. decided not to publish Potter's 'Game of Peter Rabbit' at the time and instead brought out their own version in 1919 which was published into the 1970s and featured other Potter characters as well as Peter Rabbit.

In publishing this replica of Potter's game in 1995, Warne and Co. have included facsimiles of hand written material by Beatrix Potter relating to The Game of Peter Rabbit which places the game in its historical context, revealing to us Potter's designs for the board and playing pieces and her ideas on how it was to be played.

As well as a facsimile of Beatrix Potter's 1904 letter to Mr Warne, there are facsimiles of Potter's hand written rules for the game, which she revised after comments from Frederick Warne. Also included is a facsimile of her picture letter to Noel Moore, the eldest child of her former governess. It was this letter, dated September 4th 1893, that was the origin of the Peter Rabbit story.

B.63:1 to 26-2015