The Tales of Beatrix Potter

The Heritage Collection

Beatrix Potter

Illustrated by the author

This exclusive Folio collection features 12 classic tales, including The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck and The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies. Presented in a treasury box set that retains all the charm of Beatrix Potter’s originals, this is the perfect gift for any child.

‘Once upon a time there were four little rabbits – and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter’

1. The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Beatrix Potter’s tales of endearing animals with human traits have been charming children for generations. An artist, author and conservationist, Potter was a woman of prodigious and varied talents and her love of flora and fauna is evident in her beautifully detailed, evocative drawings. Discouraged from pursuing a career in science, she published her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, when she was in her thirties. Forty million copies have been sold since 1902 and its success led Potter to compose and illustrate a total of 23 books.

From the adorable antics in The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin to the courage displayed in The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, 12 of Potter’s best-loved stories have been selected for The Heritage Collection. This special edition has been published exclusively for Folio, and each beautifully crafted book features a gold-blocked cloth binding and gilding on all page edges. The exquisite endpapers replicate the binding design of deluxe editions published by Warne in 1903, a patterned calico supplied by Edmund Potter and Company, Beatrix’s paternal grandfather. Finally, the set is presented in a beautiful presentation box lined with the endpaper design and printed with gold lettering.

PRODUCTION DETAILS

12 volumes bound in cloth

Blocked in gold

Inset printed labels

Gilded page edges

Endpapers printed with an original design

Book size: 5¾˝ x 4½˝

Copyright  © Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd, 2020.

This special edition has been produced exclusively for The Folio Society.

THE MAGIC OF BEATRIX POTTER CONTINUES TO ENTHRAL READERS

Artist, author and conservationist, Beatrix Potter was a woman of prodigious and varied talents. Her love of landscape, and of the flora and fauna she closely observed since childhood, is evident in her beautifully detailed, evocative drawings. Discouraged from pursuing a career in science, she published her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, when she was in her thirties. Forty million copies have been sold since 1902 and its success led Potter to compose and illustrate a total of 23 ‘little books’, 12 of which are included in this exquisite collection. Every child will delight in the tales of Jemima Puddle-Duck, Cock Robin, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and Peter Rabbit; in fact it’s hard to imagine childhood without the comforting presence of these and all her other delightful characters.

A PERFECTIONIST WITH A BRILLIANT IMAGINATION

Beatrix Potter’s accomplished watercolours were the result of hard work and keen observation. She learned to paint so well because of her knowledge of anatomy and the natural sciences, and from years of studying and practising. Observing real animals to create her memorable characters, she preferred to draw from life, where possible, and to make dozens of studies and sketches to ensure every image was perfect. This realism and uncanny characterisation of the animals keep the illustrations in mind long after the books have been read: Peter Rabbit escaping the clutches of Mr. McGregor; Squirrel Nutkin and his cousin Twinkleberry sailing to Owl Island on their little twig rafts; Jemima Puddle-Duck dressed up in her bonnet and talking with the sly fox.

INCLUDED IN THE BOX SET

The Tale of Peter Rabbit
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
The Tailor of Gloucester
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny
The Tale of Two Bad Mice
The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
The Tale of the Pie and the Patty Pan
The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher
The Story of Miss Moppet
The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck
The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies
The Tale of Pigling Bland

ABOUT BEATRIX POTTER

Beatrix Potter was born in London in 1866 to Rupert and Helen Potter. Educated by governesses, Potter spent much of her childhood isolated from children, apart from her younger brother Walter. Her love of nature and her artistic skills were nurtured during long family holidays in Scotland and the Lake District, where the siblings were given freedom to explore the countryside. Potter’s professional career began when she painted and sold greetings cards, most of which included drawings of animals. Later, she turned one of her illustrated stories into a book, which she shared with family and friends, one of whom took it to a publisher. The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in 1902 and it was an immediate success. Further books followed at a rate of two or three each year, until Potter had published a total of 23 little books. In 1905 Potter bought a farm in the Lake District and she spent the remainder of her life living and working there, along with William Heelis, the solicitor she married in 1913. Potter died in December 1943 and left almost all her property, as well as the original illustrations for her books, to the National Trust.