Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes
Encyclopedia
Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter
, and published by Frederick Warne & Co
. in December 1922. The book is a compilation of traditional nursery rhymes such as "Goosey Goosey Gander
", "This Little Piggy
" and "Three Blind Mice
". It was Potter's second book of rhymes published by Warne. Merchandise generated from the tale includes Beswick Pottery
porcelain figurines and Schmid music boxes.
, and privately published her work in December 1901 after a series of publishers' rejections. Frederick Warne & Co
. had rejected the tale but, eager to compete in the burgeoning and lucrative small format children's book market, reconsidered and accepted the "bunny book" (as the firm called it) following the endorsement of their prominent children's book artist L. Leslie Brooke
. Potter agreed to colour her pen and ink illustrations for the trade edition, and chose the then-new Hentschel three-colour process for reproducing her watercolours. On 2 October 1902 The Tale of Peter Rabbit
was released.
Potter continued to publish for Warne and in 1905 moved to the Lake District
, and her small format books thereafter focused and neaby villages. Her career came to an end in 1913 when marriage to William Heelis, the demands of an aged mother, failing eyesight, and the business of operating Hill Top
prevented her from investing any time and attention in book production. She continued to publish sporadically after 1913, but her work lacked the brilliance of her earlier years and depended upon the retrieval of decades-old artwork and concepts rather than artistic growth and expansion.
.
Her interest in rhymes was partly an attraction to the rhythms of older forms of English, and partly to the mysteries and riddles many rhymes presented. Potter took inspiration from childhood favourite Randolph Caldecott
, especially his rhymes that gave prominent place to animals, and, in her 1902 correspondence with Norman Warne about the publication of Peter Rabbit, indicated she "sometimes thought of trying some of the other rhymes about animals, which [Caldecott] did not do."
In the autumn of 1920, Potter proposed a book of nursery rhymes to her publisher Fruing Warne from those she had collected over the years. Titled Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes, Warne doubted such a collection would sell. In 1921 however, Anne Carroll Moore, the Superintendent of Children's Work for the New York Public Library
, visited Potter at her home, and expressed great interest in the book. Energized by her visitor's enthusiasm, Potter recommenced work on the rhymes. Fruing Warne realized he was not likely to receive anything else from Potter for the year and accepted Cecily Parsley as the new book for Christmas 1922.
By spring 1922, Potter had recopied the rhymes she wanted to use and sent them to Warne. Potter chose the pictures of the Gardening Guinea Pigs and Nanny Netticoat from an 1897 version of the book. A friend Louie Choyce provided the rhyme for the illustrations of the guinea pigs and another rhyme about a rose which was not used. Fruing Warne was a cautious editor and asked that the line about cutting off the tails of the mice in "Three Blind Mice
" be dropped. Potter complied but later insisted it be restored because the rhyme was incomplete without it. In the illustration of Cecily Parsley brewing ale, Warne decided the drink should be brewed from cowslips rather than apples – apparently unaware of the alcoholic content in cowslip wine. Potter sent Moore an autographed copy for her doll, Nicholas Knickerbocker. The original cover picture depicted Cecily Parsley with a tray but the picture was too similar to the cover picture for Appley Dapply and was changed to Cecily Parsley pushing a wheelbarrow. The book was the last in the Peter Rabbit format.
In 1947 Frederick Warne & Co. gave Beswick Pottery
of Longton, Staffordshire
rights and licenses to produce the Potter characters in porcelain. Four figurines based on Cecily Parsley were released beginning in 1965: Cecily Parsley; And This Pig Had None; This Pig Had a Bit of meat (limited edition); and Head Gardener. All the figurines were retired by 2002.
In 1975 Crummles of Dorset
began producing 1 and 5/8 inch diameter enamelled boxes depicting scenes and characters from the Potter tales. A box depicting Cecily Parsley brewing wine was released. In 1994 and 1995 Crummles was commissioned to create exclusive works for an American distributor. A stamp box depicting scenes from Appley Dapply and Cecily Parsley was released. Crummles closed its doors abruptly in 1995, and only 80 of the planned 150 stamp boxes were produced.
In 1977 Schmid & Co. of Toronto
and Randolph, Massachusetts
was granted licensing rights to Beatrix Potter. In 1983 Gentleman in Waiting (playing "Tomorrow") and Cecily Parsley were released. In 1973 The Eden Toy Company of New York was the first American firm to acquire rights to manufacture stuffed Potter characters in plush. Cecily Parsley was released in 1975.
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...
, and published by Frederick Warne & Co
Frederick Warne & Co
Frederick Warne & Co was a British publishing firm famous for children's books, particularly those of Beatrix Potter. It was founded in 1865 by a bookseller, who gave his own name to the firm.- History :...
. in December 1922. The book is a compilation of traditional nursery rhymes such as "Goosey Goosey Gander
Goosey Goosey Gander
"Goosey Goosey Gander" is an English language Nursery Rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 6488.-Lyrics:The most common modern version of the lyrics is:Goosey goosey gander,Whither shall I wander?Upstairs and downstairs...
", "This Little Piggy
This Little Piggy
"This Little Piggy" or "This little pig" is an English language nursery rhyme and fingerplay. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19297.-Lyrics:The most common modern version is:-Origins:...
" and "Three Blind Mice
Three Blind Mice
Three Blind Mice is an English nursery rhyme and musical round. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3753.-Lyrics:The modern words are:-Variations and uses:Amateur music composer Thomas Oliphant noted in 1843 that:...
". It was Potter's second book of rhymes published by Warne. Merchandise generated from the tale includes Beswick Pottery
Beswick Pottery
J. W. Beswick was a pottery manufacturer, founded in 1892 by James Wright Beswick and his sons John and Gilbert in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. They are chiefly known for producing high-quality porcelain figurines such as farm animals and Beatrix Potter characters and have become highly sought after in...
porcelain figurines and Schmid music boxes.
Background
Beatrix Potter's career as a children's author and illustrator was launched in 1900 when she revised a tale written in 1893 about a humanized rabbit, fashioned a dummy book in imitation of Little Black SamboLittle Black Sambo
The Story of Little Black Sambo is a children's book written and illustrated by Helen Bannerman, and first published by Grant Richards in October 1899 as one in a series of small-format books called The Dumpy Books for Children....
, and privately published her work in December 1901 after a series of publishers' rejections. Frederick Warne & Co
Frederick Warne & Co
Frederick Warne & Co was a British publishing firm famous for children's books, particularly those of Beatrix Potter. It was founded in 1865 by a bookseller, who gave his own name to the firm.- History :...
. had rejected the tale but, eager to compete in the burgeoning and lucrative small format children's book market, reconsidered and accepted the "bunny book" (as the firm called it) following the endorsement of their prominent children's book artist L. Leslie Brooke
L. Leslie Brooke
Leonard Leslie Brooke was a British artist and writer who was born on 24 September 1862, in Birkenhead, England. His skillful and witty illustrations in Andrew Lang's Nursery Rhyme Book established his reputation as a leading children's book illustrator of pen-and-ink line drawings and watercolors...
. Potter agreed to colour her pen and ink illustrations for the trade edition, and chose the then-new Hentschel three-colour process for reproducing her watercolours. On 2 October 1902 The Tale of Peter Rabbit
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
The Tale of Peter Rabbit is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter that follows mischievous and disobedient young Peter Rabbit as he is chased about the garden of Mr. McGregor. He escapes and returns home to his mother who puts him to bed after dosing him with camomile tea...
was released.
Potter continued to publish for Warne and in 1905 moved to the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
, and her small format books thereafter focused and neaby villages. Her career came to an end in 1913 when marriage to William Heelis, the demands of an aged mother, failing eyesight, and the business of operating Hill Top
Hill Top, Cumbria
Hill Top is a 17th-century house in Near Sawrey near Hawkshead, in the English county of Cumbria. It is an example of Lakeland vernacular architecture with random stone walls and slate roof...
prevented her from investing any time and attention in book production. She continued to publish sporadically after 1913, but her work lacked the brilliance of her earlier years and depended upon the retrieval of decades-old artwork and concepts rather than artistic growth and expansion.
Composition and publication
Potter was enthralled with nursery rhymes and enjoyed rewriting traditional rhymes to refer to her animal characters. Her early work was crammed with rhymes, as evidenced in the privately printed edition of The Tailor of GloucesterThe Tailor of Gloucester
The Tailor of Gloucester is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, privately printed by the author in 1902, and published in a trade edition by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1903...
.
Her interest in rhymes was partly an attraction to the rhythms of older forms of English, and partly to the mysteries and riddles many rhymes presented. Potter took inspiration from childhood favourite Randolph Caldecott
Randolph Caldecott
Randolph Caldecott was a British artist and illustrator, born in Chester. The Caldecott Medal was named in his honor. He exercised his art chiefly in book illustrations. His abilities as an artist were promptly and generously recognized by the Royal Academy. Caldecott greatly influenced...
, especially his rhymes that gave prominent place to animals, and, in her 1902 correspondence with Norman Warne about the publication of Peter Rabbit, indicated she "sometimes thought of trying some of the other rhymes about animals, which [Caldecott] did not do."
In the autumn of 1920, Potter proposed a book of nursery rhymes to her publisher Fruing Warne from those she had collected over the years. Titled Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes, Warne doubted such a collection would sell. In 1921 however, Anne Carroll Moore, the Superintendent of Children's Work for the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
, visited Potter at her home, and expressed great interest in the book. Energized by her visitor's enthusiasm, Potter recommenced work on the rhymes. Fruing Warne realized he was not likely to receive anything else from Potter for the year and accepted Cecily Parsley as the new book for Christmas 1922.
Three Blind Mice
Three Blind Mice is an English nursery rhyme and musical round. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3753.-Lyrics:The modern words are:-Variations and uses:Amateur music composer Thomas Oliphant noted in 1843 that:...
" be dropped. Potter complied but later insisted it be restored because the rhyme was incomplete without it. In the illustration of Cecily Parsley brewing ale, Warne decided the drink should be brewed from cowslips rather than apples – apparently unaware of the alcoholic content in cowslip wine. Potter sent Moore an autographed copy for her doll, Nicholas Knickerbocker. The original cover picture depicted Cecily Parsley with a tray but the picture was too similar to the cover picture for Appley Dapply and was changed to Cecily Parsley pushing a wheelbarrow. The book was the last in the Peter Rabbit format.
Merchandise
Potter confidently asserted her tales would one day be nursery classics, and part of the process in making them so was marketing strategy. She was the first to exploit the commercial possibilities of her characters and tales with spinoff merchandise such as a Peter Rabbit doll, a board game called The Game of Peter Rabbit, and nursery wallpaper between 1903 and 1905. Other "side-shows" (as she termed the ancillary merchandise) were produced over the following two decades.In 1947 Frederick Warne & Co. gave Beswick Pottery
Beswick Pottery
J. W. Beswick was a pottery manufacturer, founded in 1892 by James Wright Beswick and his sons John and Gilbert in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. They are chiefly known for producing high-quality porcelain figurines such as farm animals and Beatrix Potter characters and have become highly sought after in...
of Longton, Staffordshire
Longton, Staffordshire
Longton is a southern district of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and is known locally as the "Neck End" of the city. Longton is one of the six towns of "the Potteries" which formed the City of Stoke-on-Trent in 1925.-History:...
rights and licenses to produce the Potter characters in porcelain. Four figurines based on Cecily Parsley were released beginning in 1965: Cecily Parsley; And This Pig Had None; This Pig Had a Bit of meat (limited edition); and Head Gardener. All the figurines were retired by 2002.
In 1975 Crummles of Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
began producing 1 and 5/8 inch diameter enamelled boxes depicting scenes and characters from the Potter tales. A box depicting Cecily Parsley brewing wine was released. In 1994 and 1995 Crummles was commissioned to create exclusive works for an American distributor. A stamp box depicting scenes from Appley Dapply and Cecily Parsley was released. Crummles closed its doors abruptly in 1995, and only 80 of the planned 150 stamp boxes were produced.
In 1977 Schmid & Co. of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Randolph, Massachusetts
Randolph, Massachusetts
The Town of Randolph is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 32,112. Randolph adopted a new charter effective January 2010 providing for a council-manager form of government instead of the traditional town meeting...
was granted licensing rights to Beatrix Potter. In 1983 Gentleman in Waiting (playing "Tomorrow") and Cecily Parsley were released. In 1973 The Eden Toy Company of New York was the first American firm to acquire rights to manufacture stuffed Potter characters in plush. Cecily Parsley was released in 1975.