# - Potter, Beatrix.

87 by 52mm., fine ink, pencil and watercolour drawing heightened with gouache, signed lower right corner "HBP", mounted, minor soiling to blank border, extremities of sheet frayed not affecting image

There is some minor soiling to the blank border and the extremities of the sheet are frayed but this does not affect the image. There are some pin holes not affecting the image.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Two of the most important pets among Beatrix and Bertram's childhood menagerie were "Benjamin Bouncer" and, later, "Peter Piper". They would become immortalized as Benjamin Bunny and Peter Rabbit.

Benjamin Bouncer (christened Benjamin H. Bouncer or simply Bounce for short) was a long-eared "Belgian hare". Taylor states "he was probably a Belgian hare, a breed of rabbit which closely resembles the hare in colour, but is unlike it in form" (see Taylor, That Naughty Rabbit (London, 2002), p.17).

Hobbs, in Beatrix Potter - Artist and Illustrator, notes that Benjamin became "a model for her first commercial venture: fashionable and profitable greetings cards". This entirely unknown drawing dates from this period of the early 1890s.