The BP Picture Letters lll

The Pre-Raphaelite connection...well it's a bit of a stretch Margaret, but when Beatrix had completed the privately printed Tailor Of Gloucester she sent copies off to friends and acquaintances including the grandchildren of some of the Pre-Raphaelite painters. Margaret thank you for your kind note in your last blog. I am having so much fun doing this.

Back to the picture letters. As more children came to Annie Moore so there were more picture letters to write. Many of the children received letters but once the the letters had become the source of material for the books Beatrix came up with a new idea...Miniature letters. Here is a sample

Mrs McGregor, Gardeners Cottage.

Dear Sir,

I write to ask whether yur spring cabbages are ready? Kindly reply by return & oblige.

Yrs. truly,

Peter Rabbit

Master P Rabbit, Under Fir Tree.

Sir,

I rite by desir of my husband Mr. McGregor who is in Bedd with a Cauld to say if you Comes heer agane we will inform the Polisse.

Jane McGregor

P.S. I have bort a py-Dish, itt is very Large

I had to chuckle when I read these, and there are pages of these in the wonderful book, A History of The Writings of Beatrix Potter by Leslie Linder. If you want to immerse yourself in Potter book lore, this a book for you. A great biography is the one pictured above by Linda Lear, and winner of the Lakeland Book of the Year award.

In most cases the letters were written as from characters in the books. The letters were shaped and folded to represent an envelope, addressed and a tiny stamp drawn on them. Some were posted in a mini mail-bag, others sent in toy boxes.

No wonder then when word got out that Miss Potter was coming for a visit that the Moore children were a buzzing. And Beatrix would delight them. She would bring her pet mice and let them out in the house. She would bring party frocks for the girls and I am sure other presents fro the boys.

Lets have a little break from the letters of BP & as per Willows request I will tell my own story about 'letters'.

Picture Letters ll

First page of Beatrix Potter's letter to Noel Moore of 4 September 1893 - telling the story of Peter Rabbit for the first time.

The Tailor of Gloucester

Cover (later)

The success of Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit was partly based on her study, the real lovable rabbit of hers, Peter. Beatrix also did watercolours of the gardens, the potting shed, the tools, plants, nature and so the connection to the human activity of gardening entered the story. This success encouraged Beatrix to explore the picture letters and other ideas she had based on real life human endeavours. Consider her second and third books the Tailor of Gloucester & The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin. The picture letter about squirrel nutkin to Norah Moore formed the basis of The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin. It was an elaboration of an earlier letter to Noel about squirrels adventures on a river. All that summer(1901) she studied the red squirrels in the grounds of Lingholm, Derwentwater in the Lakes District of Cumberland, a favourite holiday place of the Potters.



Concurrently Beatrix worked on the other story based on a tale she had heard in Gloucester about a poor tailor in that town. The tale was about the tailor who went home leaving an unfinished suit only to return after the weekend to find it finished except for one buttonhole with a note 'there was no more twist' and then for him to conjecture that the "fairies" had completed it.
The tale was based on an actual tailor in Gloucester. Beatrix visited Gloucester to search out the shop and did studies of both the exterior and interior and features of the tailoring trade. In Beatrix's story the mice were the jolly tailors who completed the waistcoat sans buttonhole in return for the tailor saving them from a cat. This was to be her much loved Rhyme book much in the style of Caldecott and Crane whose work she admired. The rhymes were Christmas rhymes recited by carollers. The 18C costumes on display at South Kensington Museum where she went to do studies set the period although initially she went to study the owls there.
Beatrix again decided to go the route of self publishing and privately printed 500 copies. Warne was again to take up the book and publish them. A deluxe edition was published. The covers were fabric sought out by Beatrix from a mill in the Potter family.

Tomorrow the Pre-Raphaelite connection.