I have been in the rare and antiquarian book business for over forty years; my family has been in the rare books business since 1876. Rare books are in my blood.
Peter Rabbit’s Almanac for 1929
New York: Frederick Warne & Co., 1928. Item #06619
The Only Peter Rabbit Almanac
First London Edition - Inscribed by Beatrix Potter
POTTER, Beatrix. Peter Rabbit’s Almanac for 1929. New York: Frederick Warne & Co., Ltd., 1928.
First London edition. Inscribed on the front free endpaper: “For Beatrice Heap / from Beatrix Potter / Aug 23. 29."
Twelvemo (4 13/16 x 3 5/8 inches; 123 x 92 mm.). [44] pp. Color frontispiece, color vignette on title-page, and twelve color plates.
Publisher’s original tan boards, lettered in brown on covers and spine, each cover with a color pictorial label (depicting Peter Rabbit coming and going) within a blind egg-shaped panel with straight base. Color pictorial endpapers. Some light scattered foxing, small light stain to the spine edge of the covers. A near fine copy, housed in a brown cloth clamshell case.
The recipient, Beatrice Heap, was likely a member of Potter’s local circle in the Lake District, to whom she frequently presented copies of her works in this informal manner during her later years. Such inscriptions - simply phrased, warmly personal, and dated - are characteristic of Potter’s private gift copies rather than commercial or presentation inscriptions.
Conceived by Warne as the first in a projected series, Peter Rabbit’s Almanac proved to be an isolated experiment. Potter was dissatisfied with the format and felt it interfered with her other commitments; as a result, no further almanacs were produced, making this the sole example of its kind within her body of work.
The almanac itself is uncommon, particularly in well-preserved condition. Copies inscribed by Potter - especially those dating from her later Lake District years - are notably scarce.
Price: $6,000.00