A rare privately printed edition of ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’, the book which would help make English author Beatrix Potter one of the most famous children’s authors of all time, is up for auction.
The tiny volume, complete with the bookplate of a former owner, Henry Thynne (1905-1992), the 6th Marquess of Bath, is expected to fetch at least $25,000.
The copy is currently put on sale by the rare book auction website AntiquarianAuctions.com. The young Marquess was evidently a careful child, as the book is described as “a little rubbed and some light foxing” but in excellent condition, the Guardian reported.
Potter’s 150th birth anniversary is being celebrated this year with events including the Royal Mint’s release of a Peter Rabbit 50p coin, the first UK coin to feature a character from children’s fiction.
Potter was earning a modest reputation as a natural history illustrator when she wrote the first version of the story of the recklessly brave Peter - who will not stay out of Mr. McGregor’s vegetable patch despite the fate of his father who ended up in a pie - as a letter to cheer up a sick child, the son of a former governess. She based the illustrations on her detailed studies of her own pet rabbit.
In 1901 she made it into a book, and, when several publishers turned it down, had an edition of 250 copies privately printed. They were so popular that she had to order another 200. The following year the publisher Frederick Warne took on Peter and all her later books.
Peter Rabbit alone has since sold more than 45million copies, in 36 languages including Persian.
