Samuel Whiskers and Anna Maria in an attic
Drawing
1908 (made)
1908 (made)
| 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.
The Roly-Poly Pudding (1908) was the second of Potter's books to be issued in a large format (the first large-format book, The Pie and the Patty-Pan, was published in 1905). The larger format allowed for more illustrations, in particular sepia line drawings as well as colour illustrations. In her line drawings, such as this sketch of Samuel Whiskers sitting in the attic, Potter suggests movement and expression in just a few lines. Blank spaces are never redundant - like Randolph Caldecott, an artist she claimed to copy, she mastered the 'art of leaving out', regarding space and line as equal components in her illustrations.
Potter drew inspiration for her story of the two rats, Samuel Whiskers and Anna Maria, from her Lake District farmhouse, Hill Top. A year after purchasing the house, she wrote to her friend, Millie Warne, 'The rats have come back in great force; two big ones were trapped in the shed here, besides turning out a nest of eight baby rats in the cucumber frame opposite the door' (4 October 1906). Whilst renovating the house Potter decided to keep the fireplace, 'wanted for the next book'. Hill Top became the setting for the story and can still be identified in her book illustrations today.
Potter presented her finished manuscript of The Roly-Poly Pudding to Winifred Warne (the daughter of her publisher, Fruing Warne) for Christmas in 1906. The book was finally published in 1908 and dedicated to Potter's pet white rat, Sammy. In 1926 the book was re-issued in the small format to complement the other books in the series. The finished version of this illustration appears on page 45 of Warne's 2002 edition, alongside the text:
"Anna Maria! Anna Maria!"
squeaked the rat. There was a
pattering noise and an old woman
rat poked her head round a rafter.
The Roly-Poly Pudding (1908) was the second of Potter's books to be issued in a large format (the first large-format book, The Pie and the Patty-Pan, was published in 1905). The larger format allowed for more illustrations, in particular sepia line drawings as well as colour illustrations. In her line drawings, such as this sketch of Samuel Whiskers sitting in the attic, Potter suggests movement and expression in just a few lines. Blank spaces are never redundant - like Randolph Caldecott, an artist she claimed to copy, she mastered the 'art of leaving out', regarding space and line as equal components in her illustrations.
Potter drew inspiration for her story of the two rats, Samuel Whiskers and Anna Maria, from her Lake District farmhouse, Hill Top. A year after purchasing the house, she wrote to her friend, Millie Warne, 'The rats have come back in great force; two big ones were trapped in the shed here, besides turning out a nest of eight baby rats in the cucumber frame opposite the door' (4 October 1906). Whilst renovating the house Potter decided to keep the fireplace, 'wanted for the next book'. Hill Top became the setting for the story and can still be identified in her book illustrations today.
Potter presented her finished manuscript of The Roly-Poly Pudding to Winifred Warne (the daughter of her publisher, Fruing Warne) for Christmas in 1906. The book was finally published in 1908 and dedicated to Potter's pet white rat, Sammy. In 1926 the book was re-issued in the small format to complement the other books in the series. The finished version of this illustration appears on page 45 of Warne's 2002 edition, alongside the text:
"Anna Maria! Anna Maria!"
squeaked the rat. There was a
pattering noise and an old woman
rat poked her head round a rafter.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Samuel Whiskers and Anna Maria in an attic (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil and pen and ink on paper |
| Brief description | Pen and ink drawing of Samuel Whiskers and Anna Maria in an attic by Beatrix Potter, 1908; preliminary drawing for 'The Roly-Poly Pudding' (later renamed 'The Tale of Samuel Whiskers') published by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1908; Linder Collection object no. LC.26.B.4; catalogue no. 4.25. |
| Physical description | Pencil and pen and ink drawing on paper of a rat, Samuel Whiskers, sat against a sloping wall of an attic. Another rat, Anna Maria, peeps at him from around a corner on his right. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Credit line | Given by the Linder Collection |
| Object history | Given by Leslie Linder (1904-1973) to the National Book League (now the Book Trust) in 1970 as part of a representative selection of Beatrix Potter's work. This selection, comprising 279 drawings and 38 early editions and now known as the Linder Collection, was formerly on long-term loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1989 and 2019 form the charitable trust, The Linder Trust. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Literary reference | Preliminary drawing for the illustration on p.45 of the 2002 edition of <u>The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding</u> (first published by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1908). |
| 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 Roly-Poly Pudding (1908) was the second of Potter's books to be issued in a large format (the first large-format book, The Pie and the Patty-Pan, was published in 1905). The larger format allowed for more illustrations, in particular sepia line drawings as well as colour illustrations. In her line drawings, such as this sketch of Samuel Whiskers sitting in the attic, Potter suggests movement and expression in just a few lines. Blank spaces are never redundant - like Randolph Caldecott, an artist she claimed to copy, she mastered the 'art of leaving out', regarding space and line as equal components in her illustrations. Potter drew inspiration for her story of the two rats, Samuel Whiskers and Anna Maria, from her Lake District farmhouse, Hill Top. A year after purchasing the house, she wrote to her friend, Millie Warne, 'The rats have come back in great force; two big ones were trapped in the shed here, besides turning out a nest of eight baby rats in the cucumber frame opposite the door' (4 October 1906). Whilst renovating the house Potter decided to keep the fireplace, 'wanted for the next book'. Hill Top became the setting for the story and can still be identified in her book illustrations today. Potter presented her finished manuscript of The Roly-Poly Pudding to Winifred Warne (the daughter of her publisher, Fruing Warne) for Christmas in 1906. The book was finally published in 1908 and dedicated to Potter's pet white rat, Sammy. In 1926 the book was re-issued in the small format to complement the other books in the series. The finished version of this illustration appears on page 45 of Warne's 2002 edition, alongside the text: "Anna Maria! Anna Maria!" squeaked the rat. There was a pattering noise and an old woman rat poked her head round a rafter. |
| Bibliographic reference | 'Anne Stevenson Hobbs (compiler), The Linder Collection of the works and drawings of Beatrix Potter : catalogue of works on paper, London, 1999'
Brief catalogue entry, no. 4.25. |
| Other numbers |
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| Collection | |
| Library number | LC 26/B/4 |
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| Record created | June 12, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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