Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes - Merchandise

Merchandise

Potter confidently asserted her tales would one day be nursery classics, and part of the process in making them so was marketing strategy. She was the first to exploit the commercial possibilities of her characters and tales with spinoff merchandise such as a Peter Rabbit doll, a board game called The Game of Peter Rabbit, and nursery wallpaper between 1903 and 1905. Other "side-shows" (as she termed the ancillary merchandise) were produced over the following two decades.

In 1947 Frederick Warne & Co. gave Beswick Pottery of Longton, Staffordshire rights and licenses to produce the Potter characters in porcelain. Four figurines based on Cecily Parsley were released beginning in 1965: Cecily Parsley; And This Pig Had None; This Pig Had a Bit of meat (limited edition); and Head Gardener. All the figurines were retired by 2002.

In 1975 Crummles of Dorset began producing 1 and 5/8 inch diameter enamelled boxes depicting scenes and characters from the Potter tales. A box depicting Cecily Parsley brewing wine was released. In 1994 and 1995 Crummles was commissioned to create exclusive works for an American distributor. A stamp box depicting scenes from Appley Dapply and Cecily Parsley was released. Crummles closed its doors abruptly in 1995, and only 80 of the planned 150 stamp boxes were produced.

In 1977 Schmid & Co. of Toronto and Randolph, Massachusetts was granted licensing rights to Beatrix Potter. In 1983 Gentleman in Waiting (playing "Tomorrow") and Cecily Parsley were released. In 1973 The Eden Toy Company of New York was the first American firm to acquire rights to manufacture stuffed Potter characters in plush. Cecily Parsley was released in 1975.