She disregarded their fierce opposition to her engagement in 1905, when she was 38, to Norman Warne, her publisher’s younger brother, because he was ‘in trade’, but he died only a few weeks later. The books earned her plentiful money in royalties and she grew out of her parents’ control. The book’s delightful simplicity and charm made it instantly a huge success.įrom 1902 to 1913 Beatrix wrote and illustrated the tales of a host of engaging characters, who included Squirrel Nutkin, Benjamin Bunny, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, Mr Jeremy Fisher, Jemima Puddle-Duck, the Flopsy Bunnies and Pigling Bland. It was taken up by Frederick Warne & Co, who with difficulty persuaded her to redo the illustrations in colour and brought it out the following year as The Tale of Peter Rabbit. It would be the basis of Beatrix’s first book, with the illustrations in black and white, which after several publishers had turned it down she published at her own expense in 1901. One of the stories, sent that same year, was about four little rabbits called Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter. As a woman she was not allowed into the building, which infuriated her.īy this time she was sending illustrated letters telling stories to the small children of her last governess, Annie Moore. In her early twenties she began to produce detailed paintings of them and in 1897, aged 26 and still living at home with her parents, a paper by her on the germination of the spores of a variety of mushroom was read to the Linnean Society, though not by her. In summertime the Potters would take a family holiday in Scotland or in the Lake District and the children would take some of their pets along.īy the age of 16 Beatrix had developed a keen interest in fungi. She seldom left the house, but the nanny did take her for walks in Kensington Gardens. The nanny read Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Beatrix and she gradually taught herself to read on Rob Roy, Ivanhoe and other novels by Sir Walter Scott. It seems significant that when, aged 14 or so, she started to keep a diary she wrote it in code, so that nobody else in the family would be able to understand it.Īs a small child Beatrix’s nanny was a Scot who believed in fairies and witches and Beatrix loved the idea of fairies. Bertram was sent away to boarding school, but Beatrix was kept at home to be educated by a succession of governesses. Both children became keenly interested in studying animals and birds. Their numerous pets at home included rabbits, mice and bats, as well as a hedgehog, and they collected butterflies and other insects. The two children saw far more of the servants than they did of their parents, though they did encourage them from an early age to try their hands at drawing and painting. Looked after by nannies, Beatrix seems to have known few other children until her brother Bertram was born when she was five. Rupert Potter was a successful lawyer, an admired amateur photographer and a close friend of the painter John Everett Millais. They moved in artistic circles and she was their first child, born in a smart new London house in South Kensington. Her parents, Rupert and Helen Potter, both inherited plenty of money. Her own lonely childhood may have helped to inspire them. My grandmother passed down to me some Royal Doulton Beatrix Potter Figurines.The announcement in 2016 that the new 50p coin would feature Peter Rabbit was a tribute to the author of some of the best-loved stories for children that have ever been written. I’m not sure what happened after that but if you have a genuine Beatrix Potter Figurine, you should definitely hold on to it. Beatrix was not happy about that and tried to have their agreement altered or canceled. They could not work with Beatrix because a German firm had already started producing nursery items based on her characters. She then contacted Royal Doulton’s Lambeth factory. Around 1907, she used clay to make some model figures. I do not know if you are familiar with the story of how she started the figurines, but it is very interesting.īeatrix herself first thought of having her hand-drawn creations made into a marketable product. March 10, The Beatrix Potter Figurines are, unfortunately, no longer in production. It wasn’t until after she died that her wonderful characters were finally produced as figurines. She thought that Royal Doulton and Grimwades should join since Royal Doulton had much more experience in coloring the figurines. They made another model of Jemima Puddleduck and Beatrix really liked it. She had sent these same figurines to Royal Doulton ten years earlier. She sent them some clay figures that she had made. She didn’t like it but she was interested in the company. A firm called Grimwades created a model of Jemima Puddleduck and sent it to Potter for approval. March 12, It was another ten years before anyone tried to produce any of Potter’s characters. I'm a thirteen-year-old American girl and still love her stories.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |