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Cinderella's coach drawn by three pairs of rabbits

Drawing
ca. 1890s (made)
Artist/Maker

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) is one of the world's best-loved children's authors and illustrators. She wrote the majority of the twenty-three Original Peter Rabbit Books between 1901 and 1913. The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Frederick Warne, 1902) is her most famous and best-loved tale.

In the 1890s Potter sketched illustrations for fairy tales including Cinderella, Puss-in-Boots, Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty. Her later idea to publish her ‘more or less written’ version of Cinderella within ‘a set of fairy tales in thin volumes’ (see Judy Taylor (ed.) Beatrix Potter’s Letters, Frederick Warne, 1989, p.346) never materialised, but some of her manuscripts and sketches can be viewed in the V&A collections. There are two other drawings relating to Cinderella in the Linder Bequest; both depict the subject of Cinderella’s coach and one presents a more finished version of the subject. In Potter’s interpretation, Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage is drawn by three pairs of rabbits, while the coachmen are mice. There is a very light pencil sketch of a frog holding an umbrella, leaping into a boat, on the verso. This may relate to Potter's series of drawings 'A Frog He Would a-Fishing Go' of around 1894.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleCinderella's coach drawn by three pairs of rabbits (published title)
Materials and techniques
Pen and ink and pencil on paper
Brief description
Pen and ink and pencil sketch of Cinderella's coach drawn by three pairs of rabbits (recto) and a very light pencil sketch of a frog (verso) drawn by Beatrix Potter, probably in the 1890s; Linder Bequest cat. no. LB.975.
Physical description
Preliminary study completed in pencil with pen and ink work showing Cinderella's pumpkin carriage drawn by three pairs of rabbits. One of the rabbits is licking its paws while another is attended to by a mouse coachman.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 14cm
  • Sheet width: 20.5cm
Style
Production typeUnique
Credit line
Linder Bequest [plus object number; written on labels on the same line as the object number]
Object history
Drawn by Beatrix Potter, ca. 1890s. Acquired by the V&A from Leslie Linder (1904-1973) in 1973 as part of the Linder Bequest, a collection of ca. 2150 watercolours, drawings, literary manuscripts, correspondence, books, photographs, and other memorabilia associated with Beatrix Potter and her family.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) is one of the world's best-loved children's authors and illustrators. She wrote the majority of the twenty-three Original Peter Rabbit Books between 1901 and 1913. The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Frederick Warne, 1902) is her most famous and best-loved tale.

In the 1890s Potter sketched illustrations for fairy tales including Cinderella, Puss-in-Boots, Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty. Her later idea to publish her ‘more or less written’ version of Cinderella within ‘a set of fairy tales in thin volumes’ (see Judy Taylor (ed.) Beatrix Potter’s Letters, Frederick Warne, 1989, p.346) never materialised, but some of her manuscripts and sketches can be viewed in the V&A collections. There are two other drawings relating to Cinderella in the Linder Bequest; both depict the subject of Cinderella’s coach and one presents a more finished version of the subject. In Potter’s interpretation, Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage is drawn by three pairs of rabbits, while the coachmen are mice. There is a very light pencil sketch of a frog holding an umbrella, leaping into a boat, on the verso. This may relate to Potter's series of drawings 'A Frog He Would a-Fishing Go' of around 1894.
Bibliographic reference
Hobbs, Anne Stevenson, and Joyce Irene Whalley, eds. Beatrix Potter: the V & A collection : the Leslie Linder bequest of Beatrix Potter material : watercolours, drawings, manuscripts, books, photographs and memorabilia. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1985. p.107; no.975 Hobbs, Anne Stevenson, and Joyce Irene Whalley, eds. Beatrix Potter: the V & A collection: the Leslie Linder bequest of Beatrix Potter material: watercolours, drawings, manuscripts, books, photographs and memorabilia. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1985. p.107; no.975
Other number
LB.975 - Linder Bequest catalogue no.
Collection
Library number
BP.456

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Record createdApril 17, 2015
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