Beatrix Potter and Her Belgian Rabbit named Benjamin

I don't think I've ever seen this wonderful winter image by Beatrix Potter dated 1894. via

Or this one either from Sotheby's. There is a sweet story about the real bunny who was the inspiration for Benjamin Bunny. 

Benjamin Bouncer was a Belgian rabbit and was the first of Beatrix Potter's pet rabbits. He was acquired around 1885. She bought him from a London pet shop and brought him home in a paper bag.

This never-before-seen Victorian photograph shows the real Belgian rabbit who inspired Beatrix Potter's famous character Benjamin Bunny.

Benjamin Bouncer is pictured here in the late 1880s or early 1890s. He would later become Benjamin Bunny in Beatrix Potter's novels. She said he was very tame and clever. Read more about him in a great story in The Daily Mail. I never tire of reading about her and I love finding new artwork and photos to share with all of you. 

Beatrix Potter shown here with a pet dog. I don't recall ever seeing any of her artwork with dogs though I've seen many photos of her with them. Enjoy the article. xo

E. B. White writing in his boat shed

E.B. White writing in his boat shed overlooking Allen Cove, Maine photographed by Jill Krementz via

There's a lesson to be learned from this photograph. So many of us think we have to have a stage set kind of place in which to work. This isn't necessarily true, is it? Not that this isn't a special place but it doesn't look very comfortable. E.B.White's mind was probably churning with so many things he wanted to put down on paper and he could probably work anywhere. Jill Krementz's childhood home is near my cottage. xo

Girl Feeding Chickens

Another image to celebrate Children's Book Week. via

Dame Trot and Her Cat by Anonymous

Dame Trot and Her Cat: Read the entire ebook and all the delightful rhymes digitized by Project Gutenberg HERE.

So Many Ailments

Fritz Baumgarten (German Illustrator; 1883-1966) ~ Dr. G Nome’s Toadstool House -- I want to know more, don't you?

via

Life's Little Instruction Book | Volume II | Page 74

I love the last one. I would go an extra step and make it a first edition.

More Inga Moore illustrations from the book Wind in the Willows

I found more illustrations by Inga Moore from Wind in the Willows on this blog. I only posted a few but there are lots more if you click on that link. You all know how much I adore interior design by animals. Now I adore her artwork and imagination. Have a great weekend.

The Mole Spring Cleaning

Illustration by Inga Moore from Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame via

The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms. Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing. It was small wonder, then, that he suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said `Bother!' and `O blow!' and also `Hang spring-cleaning!' and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat. Read more here...

Fox and Hound Masks to Print

Click here to print this adorable fox mask by Jan Brett.

Click here to print the Bassett Hound mask.

Beatrix Potter Original Drawing: The Mice Hear Simpkin Outside

click image to enlarge

This delightful ink and watercolor on paper circa 1902 is in the Tate Gallery in London. Simpkin is the Tailer of Gloucester's cat. He rescued these mice from under a teacup where Simpkin had hidden them and out of gratitude they are helping him finish a waistcoat for the mayor's wedding on Christmas Day. Beatrix Potter based her story on a true happening in Gloucester...read more here.
The Tate has 22 of Beatrix Potter's illustrations from her second book which she declared was her favorite. They were presented to the museum in 1946 by the artist's executor .. read more here.
Read the entire book free online compliments of Project Gutenberg eBook

Sewing Mice by Beatrix Potter

"The mice stitching button holes." 

From The Tailor of Gloucester, Beatrix Potter, cira 1902. I never tire of looking at her delightful images. via

Book/Mitten Project for Newtown School Children

"Chester Raccoon stood at the edge of the forest and cried. 'I don't want to go to school,' he told his mother. 'I want to stay home with you. I want to play with my friends. And play with my toys. And read my books. And swing on my swing. Please may I stay home with you?'" — "The Kissing Hand," by Audrey Penn.
Kim Piscatelli of East Hampton, Conn., hit on the idea of sending a copy of this book to each of the kids from Sandy Hook Elementary with a pair of handmade mittens adorned with a heart in one palm, signifying the reassuring kiss left there by the mother of scared, sad Chester in the story.
Read more about this heart-warming project here.

Baking Day by Elsa Beskow

As long as you are in the baking mood, you might as well do a weekly batch. Charming illustration by Elsa Beskow (the Scandinavian Beatrix Potter) from the book Emily and Daisy.

Giving Thanks - Jessie Willcox Smith

I love this illustration by Jessie Willcox Smith of a brother and sister giving thanks for their daily bread before breakfast. I like to think this was painted to illustrate Thanksgiving morning. via

A Fairytale Life

Hans Christian Andersen 1805-1875 via

Origins of The Grinning Cheshire Cat

I read all of the possibilities here. I'm going with this one. The carving at St. Wilfrid's Church:
In the Cheshire village of Grappenhall, there’s a church that has stood since the 12th century, where Lewis Carroll’s father, a vicar, used to preach and the young Carroll often visited. A carving of a grinning cat peeks out from above the church’s main entrance. One assumes the adornment would have left a deep impression on the little boy’s imagination.
Thanks Catster...that was an interesting article.

Eating Porridge | Jessie Willcox Smith

This would be me almost every morning without the table cloth and my blue and white Canton bowl is much smaller. Oh, and no onlookers either except for Webster. via

Have a Great Weekend

1912 illustration from Dickens's Children by Jessie Willcox Smith. Read the eBook complete with all ten of the full-color illustrations by this wonderful artist HERE.

image from Flickr

Beatrix Potter Stamps | Royal Mail

Hands down, the Royal Mail has the BEST stamps. I love these from The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. I pay almost all of my bills online but these stamps would make me want to mail something by snail mail. 

Some Day

He was right.