"IT IS SAID THAT THE EFFECT OF EATING TOO MUCH LETTUCE IS 'SOPORIFIC'"

POTTER, Beatrix. The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies. London and New York: Frederick Warne, 1909. 16mo, original green paper boards, mounted cover illustration, pictorial endpapers. $1750.

First edition of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny's further adventures, with color frontispiece and 26 color plates.

This book, the story of Peter Rabbit's sister Flopsy and her family, represents the final stage "in the defeat of Mr. McGregor, who by the end… has been made into a proper fool, just as giants should be" (Carpenter, 146). Potter wrote this beautifully illustrated sequel to Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny during the most productive period of her career. "Her books were the first English classics for very young children, though their readership has always included many adults who return to them again and again to delight in their wit. Much has been written about her obvious talents, her faithful and loving pictorial evocation of the Lake District countryside, the charm of her watercolors, and the skill with which she drew animals. But she was also the first writer for the very young to bring to her task a sophisticated and ironic sense of comedy" (Children's Literature, 423). First edition, first or second printing, with notice board on page 14, Quinby's Plate VII endpapers; Evans imprint on page 86. Without very scarce original dust jacket. Quinby 16. Linder, 428. Contemporary Christmas gift inscription.

Scattered mild soiling to text, fragile original boards with minor wear to spine ends, a bit of repair to spine head. An attractive copy.