Speaking at the Victoria and Albert Museum last week, Dr Bernard Cotton, author of the ground-breaking The English Regional Chair, used Potter’s drawings and letters to show that the famous children’s author was one of the first to recognise regional characteristics in the form and decoration of vernacular furniture.
Those doubting her interest in the subject need only refer to her meticulously observed illustrations for The Tailor of Gloucester.
Potter the pioneer
With perfect timing in advance of the forthcoming biopic starring Renee Zellweger as Beatrix Potter, the lecture at this year’s AGM of the British Antique Furniture Restorer’s Association was entitled Beatrix Potter – A Pioneer in Regional Furniture Discovery.
