Greetings Card thumbnail 1
Greetings Card thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Greetings Card

ca. 1890 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

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, as seen here. Her publishers also repackaged some of her card designs into a little Christmas booklet, A Happy Pair. Original designs by Beatrix Potter relating to this greetings card are also in the collection.

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Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph on card, gilt edged
Brief description
Greetings card, mice in a coconut, designed by Beatrix Potter and published by Hildesheimer and Faulkner, ca. 1890; Linder Bequest cat. no. LB 1788.
Physical description
A greetings card with gilt edges, printed in colour; the design is in the shape of a coconut which opens up to show two mice nesting inside.
Dimensions
  • Height: 8mm
  • Width: 5mm
Style
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
A happy New Year to you (printed greeting at bottom)
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, as seen here. Her publishers also repackaged some of her card designs into a little Christmas booklet, A Happy Pair. Original designs by Beatrix Potter relating to this greetings card are also in the collection.
Associated object
BP.565(B) (Version)
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. 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.
Other number
LB.1788 - Linder Bequest catalogue no.
Collection
Library number
BP.565(A)

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Record createdApril 9, 2019
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