Books

(Potter, Beatrix)illus. THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT - A PORTFOLIO OF ART PRINTS FROM THE ORIGINAL LINE BLOCKS MADE FOR THE FIRST PRIVATE EDITION. Battledore, Kingston, NY, 1995. Edition of 250 sets. signed by Maurice Sendak. 24mo., cloth clamshell box, introductory brochure by Maurice Sendak, signed by him, and 34 block prints in brown ink on fine paper, each in its own numbered and captioned folder. Fine.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter that follows mischievous and disobedient young Peter Rabbit as he is chased about the garden of Mr. McGregor. He escapes and returns home to his mother, who puts him to bed after dosing him with tea. The tale was written for five-year-old Noel Moore, son of Potter's former governess Annie Carter Moore, in 1893. It was revised and privately printed by Potter in 1901 after several publishers' rejections, but it was printed in a trade edition by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1902. The book was a success, and multiple reprints were issued in the years immediately following its debut. It has been reprinted multiple times since then and is regarded as one of the most iconic children's books.