Beatrix Potter: Peter Rabbit first edition sold at auction
Andy Newman/Keys Fine Art AuctioneersA collection of first editions of Beatrix Potter books - including 1902's The Tale of Peter Rabbit - have sold for more than £3,500.
The collection of children's stories also includes The Tale Of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tale Of Jemima Puddle-Duck and The Tale Of Mr Jeremy Fisher.
They were sold at Keys Fine Art Auctioneers in Aylsham, Norfolk.
Peter Rabbit sold for £720, while AA Milne's The House at Pooh Corner sold for £580.
Potter's deluxe edition of The Tale of Tom Kitten sold for £1,000.
Keys Fine Art Auctioneers/PAThe first editions are the first commercially-produced books - Potter had two runs of the story printed privately, which she distributed to family and friends.
Andy Newman/Keys Fine Art AuctioneersThirty eight books sold, while 28 failed to sell.
Earlier this week, Robert Henshilwood, head of books at Keys, described the first editions as a "remarkable collection".
"Many people will remember reading these books as children, and it is that familiarity which makes them so collectable," he said.
Beatrix Potter
PA- Helen Beatrix Potter, born 28 July 1866, in Kensington, west London
- The children's author and artist was also a botanist and wrote scientific papers on fungi spores
- Before Potter wrote her classic books, she drew illustrations for some of her favourite stories, including Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Cinderella
- She was a pioneer in the licensing of her creations for merchandising and created the first Peter Rabbit doll herself in 1903
- Potter loved the Lake District and bred Herwick sheep on a number of farms she bought in the area
- When she died in 1943, she left 15 farms and more than 4,000 acres of land to the National Trust, an organisation she had supported staunchly during later life
- Her home Hill Top Farm was kept exactly as it had been when she lived in it
Source: Penguin Books Limited's Peter Rabbit website
