Autograph letter signed, to Peggy Mennie.
$17,194 · Offered by Biblio
Signed
London: c/o Messrs F. Warne & Co., 15 Bedford Street, 24 May, 1914. Signed both "Beatrix Potter" and "Mrs William Heelis", and referring to Peter Rabbit A detailed letter mentioning the writing The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots, her farming endeavours, her reasons for her own success, and advice on drawing the hind legs of a rabbit (with a diagram), which was sent to a young correspondent who evidently had sent a picture of a rabbit to Potter. Writing just over a fortnight after the death of her father, Potter laments her delay in responding to correspondence "from children all over the world" because "I am always a very busy person" and notes "illness in the family" has caused additional delay. Potter herself had been "unwell for six weeks with continuous colds and sore throat" (Linder, p. 218). Potter states that she "began a new book soon after Christmas... about cats, mostly - but of course there is a rabbit in it". The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots was set up in type and galley proofs printed, but Potter only produced one picture and the book was unpublished until 2016, when illustrations were provided by Quentin Blake. The artist observes that her correspondent is "fond of drawing and painting" and advises that "if you persevere very hard for a long time you have a good chance of succeeding". She notes "I succeeded by taking pains. I had been making plain drawings of animals and flowers for many years before I began to do book pictures. I seemed to have learnt the real shape of thing
- Year: 1914
- Binding: unknown
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