Beatrix - Entrepreneur

Peter Rabbit Race Game

Beatrix was not only a great artist, writer, conservationist, scientist and farmer. She was an astute business woman & entrepreneur.
Of course when no one would publish her Tales of Peter Rabbit she privately printed herself along with some other titles.
It wasn't long before Beatrix had ideas about games and toys and all manner of things related to her stories. She created a board game surrounding Peter Rabbit only to have it shelved by Warne & Co. Oddly enough when the going got tough at Warne (And it got seriously tough) the board game was brought back to light and ended up becoming a company saving item.
Beatrix created a Peter Rabbit doll. As Warne & Co had not copyrighted Peter Rabbit in the US, cheap knock off dolls were being created. She made a superior design and received a patent for it. She prodded Warne but ended up finding a manufacturer herself and then took control of the derivatives or in her words, "side shows", that included items like painting books, dolls, games & wallpaper. Today upwards of 2000 products a year bear the likeness of Peter Rabbit.
The books continued and in all some 23 were published over her lifetime. Peter Rabbit alone has sold an astonishing 40 million copies printed since 1902

The Folio Society has a lovely duo boxed set (11& 12) of the tales, lovingly recreated.

http://wiredforbooks.org/judytaylor/ A link to an interesting audio interview with Judy Taylor (Author and Beatrix Potter collector) by Don Swaim of CBS about Beatrix Potter

Let's rest Miss Potter and go onto something else unless you want more.

Beatrix Potter, Conservationist & Farmer

Hilltop House

We have been looking at the writings of Beatrix and their origins. I thought we could divert to her incredible contribution to conservation and a British way of the life, the small hill farm. With the family trips to the lake country as a child and in later life, Beatrix formed a bond with the Lakes District country side. Many of the inspirations for animals and characters came from her country visits.

Beatrix was an astute business woman and on viewing Hilltop farm she decided she had found her oasis and decided to by it with the royalties from her first few books. Hilltop was to be her home until she purchased Castle Cottage which she would then make her homebase and many of the books that were to come were penned in that haven and the village of Near Sawrey. She married William Heelis from the lakes district in 1913, when she was 47, and they lived their life in Castle Cottage for some years . She spent many an hour restoring the buildings but more than that she made a commitment to keep the farm, a working farm. The surrounding Cumbria district would be come prime sketching material.
It was the concept of the traditional hill or fell farming that fascinated her. She immersed herself in the culture of fell farming and of keeping the unique sheep breeds most suited that style of farming. Not only did she acquire farmland as she expanded her holdings she acquired expertise in the farm hands, who she many times kept on. She was instrumental in preserving a way of life. In 1923 she bought Troutbeck farm.With the aid of a shepherd, George Walker, who was the brother-in-law of Tom Storey who ran Hill Top Farm in Sawrey she became an expert in breeding Herdwick sheep, winning many prizes at country shows with them. They built up a celebrated flock of Herdwick Sheep, a breed of small hardy sheep with course dark wool which is indigenous to the Lake District. Even in the 1920's they were a breed under threat as more and more farmers bred other breads of sheep with softer fleeces and more productive lambs.

TroutBeck Farm

Beatrix continued to buy property, and in 1930 bought the Monk Coniston Estate - 4000 acres from Little Langdale to Coniston - which contained Tarn Hows. This large sheep farm of 1900 acres was spectacularly sited on the lower slopes of Kirkstone Pass. It was under threat of development and Beatrix Potter was keen to keep the farm together as working unit, so she bought it. Beatrix Potter used the farm as a setting for the Fairy Caravan stories, and several other pieces. Some of her writing was done in a little study she had at the farm.
She was a scientist, farmer, a conservationist, an accomplished artist and writer all in one. She as an entrepreneur too which we will discuss later. I imagine her strolling the town setting of and sketching away at what ever caught her eye. I can see her wandering the borders of the lakes and tarns stopping to sketch what caught her eye. And Beatrix needed to draw, it was in her blood and a good dose of drawing would do her good so to speak.
Her land holdings portion of her estate were to be administered by the National Trust and she was adamant that the farms be kept working farms with minimal rent, on her passing. She formed a good bond with National Trust while alive and passed on certain lands while alive with the rest transferring with her estate. When she died on 22 December 1943, Beatrix Potter left fourteen farms and 4000 acres of land to the National Trust, together with her flocks of Herdwick sheep. She stipulated in her will that the farms she left to the Trust should be let at a moderate rent, and that the landlord's flocks of sheep on the fell farms should be pure Herdwick in breed. Beatrix was the first woman to be elected president-designate of the Herdwick Sheep Breeders' Association, which continues to flourish.
So because of Beatrix you may travel to the lakes district to Sawrey and see Hilltop, Troutbeck Farm much in they may they have always been and marvel in the intact woodlands, stone fences and quaint cottages and farming buildings in the district.

Beatrix Potter, a true renaissance woman. Tommorow, back to the picture letters and the evolution of Beatrix, the entrepreneur.

Mukkaering or to Mukka

Back from chasing fishies down in the beautiful land of the lotus. Notice the lovely fall colours! This fat cutthroat took a Gulper special . She lives to fight another day!

MUKKAERING

Mukkaering is an ancient, acquired skill requiring not only a steady hand but an acute awareness of atmospheric conditions, altitude adjustment scales and heat sensitivity awareness. One must also know the rites of the PGE (not a subset of the PRB). The PGE, Properly Ground Expresso, is an essential element in the rites of Mukkadom. In other words if you don't grind the coffee espresso, you may bugger up the machine.

Anyway, some helpful hints from the PMB (Post Mukka Brotherhoood);For Margaret

Please put water in the bottom chamber or you may blow a gasket!

PGE is placed in the middle chamber

2% milk creates lovely rich foam when placed in the upper chamber

Preheat element on the stove (works better this way)

Place Mukka on stove top, push button on top down for a cappuccino

Now wait for the soothing mukkaering sounds (Pop, that's the button popping, gurggle, gurggle, shissst, shisssssssst and then the tranquility of silenco)

Remove from heat source (or you burn the milk darlings)

Pour coffee into Mukka cups (essential) and then pour or spoon the foam.

Rinse the Mukka and leave a little water in (easy clean up later)

Take a sip and enter the divine state of Mukkadom.

You have now joined the PMB not to be confused with the pMB (pre Mukka Brotherhood)

Kick back with your favorite movie, book... oh what the hell break out the scrabble board.

Quirky City Here

I got tagged in the most gentle way by dear Willow so here are my quirks. Thank for including me Willow and the link on your blog!!

1. I luv my Mukka coffee maker and make a wonderful cappuccino with it every morning. ( Makes 2) It is simply the best thing since sliced bread.

2. I am a living hot water bottle; I run about 2-3 degrees internally hotter than the average person . You guessed it I am the guy turning down the thermostat and opening windows in winter!

3. I can get fascinated by the must ordinary things such as a leaf on the ground and will stop and observe it.

4. I pick up stuff and bring it home. I have a lot of stuff. Did I say I have a lot of stuff. Good for collages and mixed media. I mean you never know when you are going to need the "Stuff"

5. I don't wear a watch and haven't for 15 years.

6. I'm an Australian... I don't like the sun much...go figure.

The Italian Letters ll

Well it was a long shot but Google got me an answer and was a convoluted process. I really could not find much on Risser. I could find references to James Risser but that was about it. It was by was by way of other people associated with the name that I was able to track down Lise the writer of the letters. At first I was off to Mucduff Everton (a fabulous photographer) and then to his wife Mary Heeber, an artist whose name had been associated with Risser.

She is an artist & a writer and had written about visiting her daughters Godmother, Lise Apatoff in Italy. When I saw the name Lise I almost fell off the chair. Is it possible? I emailed Mary and she replied back that indeed she knew of Mr Risser but he had had a very difficult life and passed away early in life. He had known Lise as a student in Santa Barbara and then Lise went to Italy to study art and the correspondence took place. They had an affection for each other and it shows in the one letter that was in the envelopes. Mary seemed to feel it would be OK to contact Lise and gave me her email. Well I was pretty excited and then all hell broke loose in my life and the project went by the wayside. I lost all my contact informations. That was as far as I got.

Doing these posts has inspired me to take up where I left off and try and trace down Lise in Italy and make contact with her and let her know about the letters. I'm hoping there is fodder for a book perhaps. A quick search tells me she has now co-authored a book on what Italians do best.

I'll let you know if I make any progress. Any way it just goes to show how the world is rapidly shrinking. Tommorow back to Beatrix.

The Italian Letters

First Day Cover - An artists' book by me, Open 18' x 12"

Hi Willow this post is dedicated to you. In 1982 I was rummaging through some first day covers at a local stamp shop. I kept noticing the same name recurring James, Jimmy, Jake & JK Risser. I looked closer and noticed that they all seem to have been written by the one person a Lise in Firenze, Italy. I spent the next hour combing through the box and discovered about 28 envelopes with Risser as the person that had been written to and most were signed with Lise. There were some with some form of mail art on them. I decided I had to have them and bought the lot. They sat in a box for about 3 years. My question was what do I do with these? I decided I wanted to share them and went about creating a book structure that would display them for viewing and would house them. It is an accordion structure, using acrylic for the pages.

The response to the piece in a show I did was astounding. Everyone was trying to figure out what the story was about. Who were these people and why the art element? What were the seemingly cryptic messages in the art? In all the envelopes there was but one letter but what a sweet one it was. Here are some images for you. To me they are a work of art in themselves

Soon after I went searching for the story behind them. I googled and got nowhere. About 5 years later I googled again using only the two names I had, Risser and Lise (no surname). It seems the Internet had expanded!!

Tomorrow; How I located the writer & the story of Lise & Jim.

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'.