Happy Pair, A
London: Hildesheimer & Faulkner, 1890. Item #06124
Beatrix Potter's First Published Book
The Book That Launched One of the Most Beloved Careers in Children's Literature
[POTTER, Beatrix, illustrator]. A Happy Pair. By Frederic E. Weatherly. Illustrated by H.B.P. [Helen Beatrix Potter]. London: Hildesheimer & Faulkner, [1890].
First edition. Duodecimo (4 3/4 x 4 inches; 120 x 102 mm.). [14] pp. Six magnificent full-page chromolithographed illustrations of rabbits by Beatrix Potter, together with her charming pictorial wrappers, all reproduced in rich contemporary color.
Publisher's original pictorial chromolithographed wrappers illustrated by Potter, sewn with the original silk cord, all edges gilt. A large but predominantly pale stain affecting the title-page and first few leaves, with only minimal effect on the illustrations; otherwise an exceptionally well-preserved example of this fragile publication. Housed in a handsome felt-lined full green morocco clamshell case, decoratively tooled and lettered in gilt.
A Happy Pair occupies an unrivaled place in Beatrix Potter's bibliography as her first published book and the work that introduced her illustrations to the public. Before The Tale of Peter Rabbit, before Frederick Warne, and more than a decade before she revolutionized children's publishing, Potter was an ambitious young artist searching for a publisher willing to recognize her extraordinary talent.
Her own journal records the story. In May 1890 she described her disappointment after Marcus Ward rejected a group of her Christmas card designs almost immediately upon receipt. Acting on the advice of her brother Bertram, she next submitted several rabbit drawings to the London publishers Hildesheimer & Faulkner. Their response transformed her prospects. To Potter's astonishment they immediately purchased the designs, sending her a check for six pounds and requesting additional work. As she later recalled, it was the first genuine encouragement she had received as a professional illustrator.
Those rabbit drawings became the foundation for A Happy Pair. First issued as a portfolio of separate chromolithographed illustrations and almost simultaneously incorporated into the present little book with verses by the prolific Victorian songwriter Frederic Edward Weatherly, they constitute Potter's earliest appearance in book form.
Although her name appears only as the discreet initials "H.B.P.", the unmistakable qualities that would later delight millions of readers are already fully evident: exquisitely observed rabbits endowed with distinct personalities, natural grace, gentle humor, and remarkable emotional expression. Benjamin Bouncer, who appears throughout the volume, may fairly be regarded as the direct artistic ancestor of Peter Rabbit himself.
The ephemeral nature of the publication ensured that comparatively few copies survived. Produced as an inexpensive gift booklet, A Happy Pair was rarely preserved with the care afforded Potter's later books, and complete copies retaining their original silk cord and pictorial wrappers are now among the most elusive of all Potter publications. The present example, notwithstanding the pale stain noted above, preserves its original format and displays the chromolithographs with exceptional freshness and brilliance.
Quinby, p. 115. V&A 1765. Laurie Deval, "The Bibliography of Beatrix Potter," The Book Collector, Winter 1966, pp. 454-459. Leslie Linder, The Journal of Beatrix Potter 1881-1897, pp. 203-206. Judy Taylor, Beatrix Potter: The Artist and Her World, p. 17.
Price: $28,500.00