Beatrix Potter: The Owl and the Pussycat Pillow

Cute and cozy year-round! This pillow features an illustration by Beatrix Potter in one of her letters sent to a child. The drawing reproduced in a lovely red on this pillow is complemented with her signature on the back. Canvas pillow comes with a polyfill insert.

Beatrix Potter often wrote personal letters to children and referenced her stories with drawings. Her illustrated letters are among the most treasured keepsakes within the Morgan Library and Museum’s collection.

Following up on a previous letter, Potter wrote again to Noel Moore about the Owl and the Pussy-Cat, this time with a sequel showing an idyllic portrait of the married couple. The owl sips honey spoon in hand while the cat fishes for dinner. This scene required an explanation: "It is funny to see a bird with hands, but how could he play the guitar without them?" Logical conundrums like this were part of the pleasure she took in the nonsense verse of Edward Lear. In these letters she paid tribute to Lear and perfected the story-telling skills she would employ in her own publications.