The Birnam Institute houses a wonderful exhibition telling the tale of this 'Fascinating Acquaintance', and the nearby Beatrix Potter Garden magically recreates the lovely countryside which so impressed the young Beatrix Potter and features flowers, fungi and characters associated with her relationship with the area. Footpaths lead past the houses of Mr. Tod and Mrs. Tiggy-winkle , alongside the stream and pond where Mr. Jeremy Fisher lives and 'Peter Rabbit's burrow'.

Yellow Grisette (Amanita crocea) and Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria),
painted by Beatrix Potter in September 1897

Waterlilies on Esthwaite Water, 1906

The name of Beatrix Potter is firmly linked with the English Lake District, and with Sawrey and Hawkshead in particular, for it was in this beautiful part of England that she wrote many of her children's books and here that she spent the last thirty years of her life, having married solicitor William Heelis in 1913.

If you are interested in Beatrix Potter's life in the Lake District and the illustrations for the Tales, you may like to visit these sites in the English Lake District:

The Beatrix Potter Gallery, Hawkshead, Cumbria
The award-winning Beatrix Potter Gallery in Hawkshead houses an annually changing exhibition of Beatrix Potter's delicate watercolours in the restored premises of William Heelis's offices in the Main Street. Parts of William Heelis's offices have been recreated with some of the original furniture and furnishings.
Today the Gallery is operated by The National Trust and is open (seasonally) to the public.
Tel. 015394 36355, Email:beatrixpottergallery@ntrust.org.uk Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Information on the opening days and times at both these properties appears on the What’s On … page of this website.

House of the Tailor of Gloucester

The historic building, on which Beatrix Potter based her illustration of the Tailor's house, is situated close to Gloucester Cathedral and was painted by her when she visited the city. She used her illustrations together with a local folk tale (about a tailor who tried to finish a magnificent waistcoat for the Mayor's wedding one Christmas Day) as the basis for the third of her Peter Rabbit books, The Tailor of Gloucester, published in 1903. Beatrix Potter later acknowledged this story as her personal favourite.

The house is now open to the public. House of the Tailor of Gloucester, 9 College Court, Gloucester, GL1 2NJ. Tel. 01452 422856

Melford Hall, Suffolk
One of East Anglia’s most celebrated Elizabethan houses, now in the care of The National Trust, it is little changed externally since 1578 and has an original panelled banqueting hall. It has been the home of the Hyde Parker family since 1786 and Beatrix Potter visited on several occasions and painted many fine scenes there. There is a Regency library, as well as Victorian bedrooms and good collections of furniture and porcelain and a small collection of Beatrix Potter memorabilia. The garden contains some spectacular specimen trees and a charming banqueting house, and there is an attractive walk through the park.

"In the Footsteps of Beatrix Potter". is a guided walk roughly following the sites which Beatrix Potter sketched at Melford

Gwaenynog, Denbighshire

Free Library of Philadelphia, Rare Book Department

If you are in the United States of America, you might like to start by visiting the Free Library of Philadelphia, where there is, in the Rare Book Department, a good collection of original Beatrix Potter drawings and watercolours and also some letters, first editions, Peter Rabbit piracies and ephemera and a reference section. There is not always an extensive display of Beatrix Potter items on public view, so contact Bill Lang for an appointment.

Free Library of Philadelphia, 1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia PA 19104 Telephone 215 686 5416, email Langw@library.phila.gov.
Website www.library.phila.gov

Princeton University Library, New Jersey
Cotsen Children’s Library

An extensive collection of books, letters, manuscripts and artwork by Beatrix Potter, the author of “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” and other books adored by generations of children, has been presented to Princeton’s Cotsen Children’s Library.

The collection of close to 600 items has been placed on deposit as an intended gift to the University from Lloyd Cotsen, a member of Princeton’s class of 1950 and a longtime collector of children’s literature. Cotsen donated the funds to create the children’s library, which opened in Firestone in 1997.

In an essay for the collection’s lavishly illustrated catalogue, Judy Taylor, an expert on Potter, wrote, “There are many people in many places who now collect her work, but Lloyd Cotsen’s Beatrix Potter Collection ranks as probably the best private assemblage outside any major public museum or library.” Included in the collection are first editions of what are known as Potter’s “little books,” letters to friends and family, and photographs taken by Potter as well as an album of family photos.