Collectable Beswick Figurines in the Beatrix Potter Series

I collect all sorts of things, including hundreds of books, Beswick figurines, weird ornaments, glass, and even empty boxes and plant pots

I would like to share with you my collection of Beswick/Royal Albert Figurines in the Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit Series

I've taken lots of photographs of my own collection of the Peter Rabbit characters, and there is a short biography of Beatrix Potter herself and the reason why she started writing the Peter Rabbit series, leading to a rapid rise to fame. I've also written a bit about the Beswick factory, the talented people who designed these figurines and the significance of back stamps.

Tommy Brock, Spade Out

My parents gave me my first Beswick figurine, Jeremy Fisher, over 60 years ago, as a birthday present

Appealing, adorable, but slightly repelant, that little ornament travelled the world with me, and has always reminded me of my childhood. He lasted until my own children started playing with him, and he lost one hand, which I carefully glued back but eventually he broke into pieces and I had to consign him to the dustbin.

Gradually I have built up quite a big collection of Beswick figurines, which I now intend to sell, apart from one or two of my favourites.If you are interested in buying any of them, you can contact me here

Beswick Beatrix Potter Series - Tailor of Gloucester

Beswick Beatrix Potter - Tailor of Gloucester BP2a

Tailor of Gloucester is less valuable than many of the Beswick figurines and would therefore be a good one to start off a new Beatrix Potter collection

See Photograph on the right

Height 3.5"
Modelled by: Arthur Gredington
Brown mouse reading newspaper, with a yellow cotton reel of pinky-red thread

Two different versions of Tommy Brock

Beswick Beatrix Potter Tommy Brock BP 3a:

Handle Hidden, Small Eye Patch - Very Rare 2nd Version

The figurine above left is the standard Beswick Beatrix Potter Tommy Brock BP 3a (about 1970 - 1974) (showing small eye patches and the spade handle ). The figurine above right is the very valuable and rare 2nd version, 2nd variation Beswick Beatrix Potter Tommy Brock with the handle of the spade hidden and with small eye patches) - this figurine has a rare BP 3a backstamp, which was produced only for one year, in about 1974,

Both of them measure 3.5"(8.9cm) high, and were designed by Graham Orwell and have a bluey-grey jacket, over yellow trousers and a pink waistcoat.

Mr Benjamin Bunny and Peter Rabbit

Beswick Beatrix Potter Mr Benjamin Bunny and Peter Rabbit BP 3c

Mr Benjamin Bunny smacking Peter Rabbit's bottom (in the days when corporal punishment was considered to be good for the child - how things change, don't they?).

Modelled by Alan Maslankowski, height 4" (10.1 cm.) Issued between 1975 and 1995

Susan

Beswick Beatrix Potter - Susan 1983

Believed to be Model BP3b

Height 4"
Modelled by David Lyttleton
This figurine has an extremely rare back stamp with the words "Frederick Warner plc 1983" instead of the usual Frederick Warne & Co., and is not not even mentioned in the handbook Beswick's Collectables, although I have researched and found it elsewhere on the internet.

The rare backstamp would increase the value substantially.

Susan - rare backstamp

Mr Tod

Beswick Beatrix Potter - Mr Tod BP6a - a very foxy fox

Modelled by Ted Chawner
Height 4.75" (12 cm.), issued between l988 and 1993

Appley Dappley

Beswick Beatrix Potter - Appley Dapply BP2a - 1st Version with "Bottle Out"

This version of Appley Dappley is the more valuable and thus more sought-after version, with the bottle sticking out of the basket.

Modelled by: Albert Hallam

Issued between 1971 and 1975

Foxy Whiskered Gentleman

Beswick Beatrix Potter Foxy Whiskered Gentleman, BP-2A

1st Version, 1st Variation

Foxy Whiskered Gentleman was issued between 1954 - 2002.

The backstamp at the bottom of the figurine shown in the photograph indicates that it was issued between 1955 and 1975, which means that it is a very early version - with Foxy Whiskered Gentleman wearing a pale green jacket and trousers,with a pink waistcoat.

Designed by Arthur Gredington

Height 4.75"(12.1 cm.)

Sadly, this particular figurine has chips on the ear, waistcoat and backstamp.

Mr Benjamin Bunny

Beswick Beatrix Potter Mr Benjamin Bunny BP 2 Gold -

Pipe Out and Dark Maroon Jacket

Modelled by: Arthur Gredington

height 4.25" (10.8 cm.)

Shown here is a rare early version of Mr Benjamin Bunny wearing a maroon jacket, with his pipe out, a version which was issued between 1965 and 1974. There is an even earlier extremely rare version showing Mr Benjamin Bunny in a lilac jacket as opposed to the maroon jacket.

In the later versions which were issued from 1970 and 2002, his pipe is in. There are many different backstamps for these figuribes, and, on the whole, the later issues are much less valuable.

Pig-Wig

Beswick Beatrix Potter Pig-Wig BP 3b -

Black Pig in Blue Dress

Modelled by: Albert Hallam

Height 4", Issued between 1972 and 1982

Pig-Wig came in two different colour variations; The first version is so rare that Beswick Collectables, the standard reference book, doesn't even list the price - in that version Pig-Wig is a grey pig wearing a pale blue dress.

In the second version, the one shown in the photograph, she is a black pig wearing a deeper blue dress.

Sir Isaac Newton

Beswick Beatrix Potter Sir Isaac Newton BP3b

Sir Isaac Newton is one of my favorite Beatrix Potter Figurines - I just love him, don't ask me why!

Modelled by: Graham Tongue

Height: 3.75", (9.5 cm.)

Issued 1955 - 1972, this is one of the very few figurines with a backstamp which uses the words "Made in England" as opposed to the more usual single word "England"

The size and color of Sir Isaac Newton figurines may vary. He normally wears a pale green jacket with a yellow waistcoat and he has tan markings.

Benjamin Wakes Up

Beswick Beatrix Potter - Benjamin Wakes up

Benjamin Wakes Up BP 6a

Modelled by: Amanda Hughes-Lubeck
Height: 2.25" (5.7 cm.), issued between 1991 and 1997

Benjamin Wakes Up is quite cute but but he isn't a very valuable figurine

Who was Beatrix Potter (1866 - 1943?

A history of Beatrix Potter and the Peter Rabbit books which she both wrote and illustrated:

Born into an upper middle class wealthy Victorian family whose money came from the cotton trade, her father was a barrister, keen on art and photography and her family mixed socially with politicians, artists and writers . As is common with busy parents, Beatrix was home-educated by a governess. Her closest companion was her younger brother Bertram , who went to boarding school, so as a child, Beatrix was quite a lonely. She was a talented artist, encouraged by her father, and with her brother spent a lot of time watching and sketching their many household pets and wildlife. The pets inspired Beatrix Potteto create the popular characters in her books.

Beatrix Potter became an enthusiastic naturalist in her 20's, and studied and drew animals and plants at museums, inspecting them under the microscope and also writing about them; she was a talented botanical illustrator and natural scientist and presented a botanical paper to the Linnean Society on Funghi. Later she became conservationist, farmer, and sheep-breeder.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit was developed from her illustrated letters to her former governess's children.The book was rejected by six publishers, so she published it herself in 1901 and on the strength of that, she was then employed by Frederick Warne, the publisher. .

The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was published by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1902 with a run of 8000 copies printed and since then, the story has never been out of print. over the next 28 years, Beatrix Potter published a further 22 little books. Norman Warne,her editor, wanted to marry her but, sadly died in 1905 before they could marry. With the income from her books, which were very successful. She bought farming land in the Lake District, met William Heelis, a local solicitor,and they married in 1913. She was keenly interested in conservation, became friendly with a founder member of the National Trust, and left the Trust 14 farms and more than 4,000 acres of land

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To this day, Beatrix Potter is one of the world's best-selling and most popular children's authors. Her books have been translated into over 35 languages and over 100 million copies have been sold.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit is still a popular book for children

The Peter Rabbit Stories are very popular

A Video - The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

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If you have any comments or queries, you can leave them here

Diana Grant (author) from London on June 18, 2015:

There are lots of them on selling websites like eBay

Barbara Badder from USA on June 17, 2015:

I enjoyed looking at your collection. I go to garage sales and often don't know what I am looking at as far as collectibles go. I've found some beautiful items at estate sales and I don't think the heirs knew that some of these things are special. Now I'll start looking for the Beatrice Potter figurines.