The Tale of Tom Kitten is set in the cottage garden Beatrix created herself at Hill Top, the farm she owned near the village of Sawrey.
Leaves with a couple tiny spots of soil spine cracked at a couple of openings. Binding with a light edgewear, a bit of sunning to spine. Contemporary owner name to recto of frontispiece leaf. Color decorative endpapers of other Beatrix Potter characters. Original brown paper boards with color pictorial center panel and white lettering. She must have eventually overcome her frustration with the kitten she lovingly called "Pickle," as TOM KITTEN is dedicated to him and the other farm cats.
In order to properly depict TOM and his sisters, Potter notes in correspondence that she "borrowed a kitten," who she found to be "an exasperating model" (Linder, 186). Set in Beatrix Potter's own garden at Hill Top Farm, THE TALE OF TOM KITTEN is a quintessential example of her charming prose and artistic attention to detail. First edition of this story of kitten clothes and thieving ducks, a Beatrix Potter classic. 427 (UK edition).Ĭondition: Very good plus. Her career began with the release of the now-beloved Tale of Peter Rabbit and her subsequent works expanded into a magical world of anthropomorphic animals such as Tom Kitten, Squirrel Nutkin, and Benjamin Bunny. An eager student of languages and literature, she grew up loving classic folk and fairy tales.Her talent for drawing and painting was discovered early and encouraged" (Beatrix Potter Society). As was the custom in families of her class, she was educated at home by governesses. "Beatrix Potter, writer of some of the most beloved children's books of all time, was a woman of immense talent, indefatigable spirit, and a generous heart.Although she grew up in London, she was deeply influenced by long family holidays in the countryside, first in Scotland and later in the English lake district. A very fine copy in the original (very slightly chipped) glassine wrapper. Quinby Plate III endpapers as called for. Color frontispiece and twenty-six color plates. Neat ink inscription on half-title dated "February 1908". Original greenish brown boards lettered in white with color pictorial paper label on front cover. EXCEEDINGLY RARE and amazingly nice.įirst American edition. Only four copies located on OCLC/WorldCat (Bryn Mawr College Princeton University Library New York Public Library System National Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum). The condition of the dust jacket is VERY GOOD. The condition of the book is VERY GOOD +. Very rare and early Beatrix Potter coloring book illustrated with eight color plates from eight different stories, each with a facing "outline" illustration intended to be painted or colored-in by the book's owner all "outline" illustrations remain uncolored as issued text related to the illustrations/stories appear below the illustrations internally the book is in nearly pristine condition. leaves, including pastedowns' illustration printed one side only. Original publisher's printed glassine dust jacket with price (One Shilling Net) to front panel and publisher's advertisement for other Potter titles and merchandise, e.g., 'Peter Rabbit's Slippers: The "Joy" Footwear For Tiny Feet,' to both front and rear flaps, with minor fraying to the edges, small chips to head and tail of spine and a large chip and some stains to back panel for what is still a nearly complete dust jacket, with all printing bright and legible. Color pictorial stiff card wrappers with titles and image of Tom Kitten standing before a canvas on an easel with paintbrush in hand to front wrapper, titles in white to spine and color pictorial publisher's advertisement for "The Peter Rabbit Books By Beatrix Potter," with ten "First Series" titles and two "Second Series" titles listed to back wrapper, with light chipping to spine ends and a few marks to back wrapper, but all in all, truly a wonderful copy of the book.