Peter Rabbit Box, The
- SIGNED
- New York: Cupples & Leon Company, 1921
New York: Cupples & Leon Company, 1921. The Peter Rabbit Box, New York, 1921
Three Unauthorized Peter Rabbit Books with Vintage Painted Peter Rabbit Toy
[POTTER, Beatrix]. HUDSON, Alma. The Peter Rabbit Box. New York: Cupples & Leon Company, [1921].
A rare and complete early American Peter Rabbit boxed set, issued by Cupples & Leon and featuring three charming storybooks alongside a delightful 6-inch-tall composition figurine of Peter Rabbit himself.
Three twelvemo volumes (6 x 4 5/8 inches; 152 x 118 mm.). 48pp; 48pp; 48pp. Each volume profusely illustrated by Richard Hudson with eight full-page color plates and black-and-white vignettes throughout.
Publisher's red decorated cloth lettered in black and with a mounted full-color pictorial cover paper onlay.
Each book in its original color pictorial dust jacket. Very fine copies.
Housed in the publisher’s original sturdy red paper-covered lidded box (6 3/4 x 8 inches; 203 x 170 mm.). Mounted color pictorial paper onlay to the box lid.
The set contains: Three titles by Alma Hudson: Peter Rabbit in Mother Goose Land; Peter Rabbit and the Fairies; Peter Rabbit at the Circus.
The standout feature is the inclusion of the original molded plasticene figure of Peter Rabbit, painted in vibrant colors (red waistcoat, green trousers), nestled securely in its original cardboard recess. This fragile figure is as new, with no cracks or wear - exceedingly scarce in this condition.
The box itself is near fine, showing only minor edge rubbing. An excellent survival of a fragile and ephemeral item.
Rare complete, especially with all three dust-jackets and the original figurine in pristine condition.
Alma Hudson is credited as the author of the Peter Rabbit derivative titles in the 1921 Peter Rabbit Box set: Peter Rabbit in Mother Goose Land, Peter Rabbit and the Fairies, and Peter Rabbit at the Circus. The Peter Rabbit works she authored were likely unauthorized or derivative uses of Beatrix Potter’s characters (i.e. they are not part of the official Beatrix Potter canon). This makes her more of a peripheral figure in the history of “Peter Rabbit - related ephemera” than a central figure in children’s literature.
Because the Peter Rabbit works by Alma Hudson are derivative (i.e. using Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit character in new stories not by the original creator), it was common in early 20th-century publishing for anonymous or contract writers to be used under pseudonyms or house names. This might explain why historical records do not preserve a “real” Alma Hudson (or why she does not appear in literary reference works).
Cupples & Leon was founded in 1902 in New York City by Victor I. Cupples (1864–1941) and Arthur T. Leon (1867–1943). Cupples & Leon made a name for themselves in juvenile fiction / children’s books.
Items such as boxed sets of derivative or spin-off children’s literature (like the Peter Rabbit Box set) from Cupples & Leon benefit from the publishing firm’s reputation in the juvenile market.
Three Unauthorized Peter Rabbit Books with Vintage Painted Peter Rabbit Toy
[POTTER, Beatrix]. HUDSON, Alma. The Peter Rabbit Box. New York: Cupples & Leon Company, [1921].
A rare and complete early American Peter Rabbit boxed set, issued by Cupples & Leon and featuring three charming storybooks alongside a delightful 6-inch-tall composition figurine of Peter Rabbit himself.
Three twelvemo volumes (6 x 4 5/8 inches; 152 x 118 mm.). 48pp; 48pp; 48pp. Each volume profusely illustrated by Richard Hudson with eight full-page color plates and black-and-white vignettes throughout.
Publisher's red decorated cloth lettered in black and with a mounted full-color pictorial cover paper onlay.
Each book in its original color pictorial dust jacket. Very fine copies.
Housed in the publisher’s original sturdy red paper-covered lidded box (6 3/4 x 8 inches; 203 x 170 mm.). Mounted color pictorial paper onlay to the box lid.
The set contains: Three titles by Alma Hudson: Peter Rabbit in Mother Goose Land; Peter Rabbit and the Fairies; Peter Rabbit at the Circus.
The standout feature is the inclusion of the original molded plasticene figure of Peter Rabbit, painted in vibrant colors (red waistcoat, green trousers), nestled securely in its original cardboard recess. This fragile figure is as new, with no cracks or wear - exceedingly scarce in this condition.
The box itself is near fine, showing only minor edge rubbing. An excellent survival of a fragile and ephemeral item.
Rare complete, especially with all three dust-jackets and the original figurine in pristine condition.
Alma Hudson is credited as the author of the Peter Rabbit derivative titles in the 1921 Peter Rabbit Box set: Peter Rabbit in Mother Goose Land, Peter Rabbit and the Fairies, and Peter Rabbit at the Circus. The Peter Rabbit works she authored were likely unauthorized or derivative uses of Beatrix Potter’s characters (i.e. they are not part of the official Beatrix Potter canon). This makes her more of a peripheral figure in the history of “Peter Rabbit - related ephemera” than a central figure in children’s literature.
Because the Peter Rabbit works by Alma Hudson are derivative (i.e. using Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit character in new stories not by the original creator), it was common in early 20th-century publishing for anonymous or contract writers to be used under pseudonyms or house names. This might explain why historical records do not preserve a “real” Alma Hudson (or why she does not appear in literary reference works).
Cupples & Leon was founded in 1902 in New York City by Victor I. Cupples (1864–1941) and Arthur T. Leon (1867–1943). Cupples & Leon made a name for themselves in juvenile fiction / children’s books.
Items such as boxed sets of derivative or spin-off children’s literature (like the Peter Rabbit Box set) from Cupples & Leon benefit from the publishing firm’s reputation in the juvenile market.