^TM

Peter Rabbit™ Celebrates 100 Years of Fame

By Barbara Ballard

The Tale of Peter Rabbit™ by Beatrix Potter is 100 years old in 2002. Special celebrations and publications mark the centenary.

Beatrix Potter, born in 1866, was a typical middle class Victorian girl, educated at home by a governess. She kept a menagerie of pets and taught herself to draw and paint by watching her animals. Family holidays in the country taught her to respect and understand the natural world.

When Potter was 27, she wrote an illustrated letter to a little boy called Noel Moore: “My dear Noel, I don't know what to write to you so I shall tell you a story about four little rabbits.”  More picture letters followed and the children who received them were thrilled by these charming stories, and Potter decided to publish one.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit™ was declined by publishers and self-published by Potter. Frederick Warne publishers had second thoughts and published it in 1902. The book immediately sold thousands of copies and went on to become one of the best selling children's stories ever written.

Beatrix Potter wrote 23 books in the Original Peter Rabbit Books™ series between 1902 and 1930. Peter Rabbit and other Beatrix Potter characters feature on thousands of different products all over the world. Beatrix Potter initiated the development of the merchandise programme when, in 1903, she designed and patented a Peter Rabbit doll, making Peter the world's oldest licensed character.

“I am cutting out calico patterns of Peter. I have not got it quite right yet, but the expression is going to be lovely, especially the whiskers'”, she said. Potter's goal was to provide high-quality merchandise that was true to the original characters and to the 'feel' of the Tales.

A range of products including slippers, handkerchiefs and china tea sets were developed under Beatrix Potter's approval and licensed by her publisher, Frederick Warne. By the 1940s, larger more international companies were introducing their own ranges. Two current licensees Wedgwood and Royal Doulton, date from that period.

Year 2002 Beatrix Potter Events and Celebrations in the UK

• New editions of the 23 little books, with gifts sets and limited editions.

• Special commemorative ranges of merchandise.

• Parties and in-store events at bookstores and major retailers nationwide.

• Celebratory Centenary events at National Trust properties throughout the year.

• Special Centenary Peter Rabbit shows at major Children’s Book Festivals including Cheltenham and Edinburgh.

• Peter Rabbit touring showcase featuring original materials on display in selected shops and festival venues.

• The year 2002 will be rounded off with Peter Rabbit switching on the Regent Street Christmas Lights in London.

©2002 Reproduction of this work (including photographs) in whole or in part, and including reproduction in electronic media, without the expressed permission of the author is prohibited.  courtesy of and copyright by Frederick Warne and Co., 1902, 1946, 2001

Back to TravelLady Magazine