Today (2nd September) the House of Illustration launches its big new autumnal exhibition: Quentin Blake’s original drawings for The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots, the unpublished Beatrix Potter manuscript recently rediscovered over 100 years after it was written.
The book, about ‘a well-behaved prime black Kitty cat, who leads rather a double life’, features classic Potter characters including Mrs Tiggy-Winkle and Mr Tod re-drawn by Blake.
The exhibition displays Blake’s complete illustrations for the book, as well as his sketchbooks. It also contains the Beatrix Potter manuscript and Potter’s only complete illustration for the book, both on loan from the V&A Museum. Wowsers.
There are, of course, learning materials and workshops for families and schools, inspired by Blake’s work and led by professional illustrators.
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And naturally, the exhibition coincides with the publication – 150 years after Potter’s birth – of The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots in hardback (on 1st September), by Frederick Warne & Co, Beatrix Potter’s original publisher.
