Collection of 60 Beatrix Potter first editions is to be sold at auction

A collection of 60 Beatrix Potter first editions, including the much-loved author's first book The Tale Of Peter Rabbit published in 1902, is to be sold at auction.

The copy of The Tale Of Peter Rabbit, which tells the story of the mischievous rabbit's troubles in Mr McGregor's vegetable garden, has a pre-sale estimate of £800 to £1,200.

The 60 books are being sold in 27 separate lots at Keys Fine Art Auctioneers in Aylsham, Norfolk.

Other titles going under the hammer include The Tale Of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tale Of Jemima Puddle-Duck and The Tale Of Mr Jeremy Fisher.

Beatrix Potter, born in London in 1866, used to draw pictures of her first pet rabbit Benjamin Bouncer.

She had a lifelong love of the Lake District and invested the money she made from her books in buying several farms there.

When she died in 1943, she left 15 farms and more than 4,000 acres of land to the National Trust, an organisation she had supported staunchly during later life.

Robert Henshilwood, head of books at Keys, described the first editions as a "remarkable collection", adding:

They are among 1,400 lots that will be auctioned at the Book and Ephemera Sale at Keys on Thursday and Friday.

A first edition of AA Milne's The House At Pooh Corner from 1928, with a pre-sale estimate of £500 to £600, will also be auctioned.