Collecting and Archiving Beatrix Potter's Works

Image credit: Beatrix Potter with a border terrier at Lingholm, Keswick, by Rupert Potter, 3 October 1897, albumen photograph, given by Joan Duke. Museum no. E.765-2005. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/introducing-beatrix-potter 
 
Andrew P. Wiltshire discussed the life and work of Beatrix Potter. I was excited for this lesson as I grew up in a house that had an anthology of her stories. I loved looking at her beautiful illustrations and related to her as I also had lots of pets and enjoy being in nature. It was interesting to get more insight into the author's life. Potter had many talents other than being an author of classic children's literature. As previously mentioned, she was a talented artist. Her eye for observation influenced her art to a level of realism ideal when depicting nature. She also studied fungi spores and and fairy circles. Unfortunately, and possibly due to a combination of misogyny and carelessness, her research paper on the subject was lost by Kew. It is hypothesized that her research may have been an earlier lead to the discovery of penicillin. Potter was a wealthy woman and amassed a lot of land in the Lake District. Upon her death, she left the land to the National Trust to be preserved.

This presentation was my first time to hear that Potter wrote her personal journals in code. A man named Leslie Linder was an avid collector of Potter's work, both published and personal. Linder was able to crack Potter's code and transcribe her journals. The breakthrough moment came when he was able to spot the date "1793" coupled with "XVI" and a word that looked like "executed". Once he established that the writing was about Louis XVI who was guillotined in 1793, the rest of the code's equivalents became apparent. Linder's dedication to collecting and decoding Potter's work was instrumental in preserving her legacy. This presentation impressed upon me the difference that one person can make when it comes to preservation. Volunteers can be cultivated anywhere. It is important for library and museum professionals to be adept at networking so that they can connect with potential volunteers and/ or donors that might enhance their work or collection. 

Relevant links:

https://beatrixpottersociety.org.uk/

https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/beatrix-potter

https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/leslie-linder-and-the-beatrix-potter-collection

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/history/people/beatrix-potter

https://thelinderfoundation.org.uk/

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