Merchandise
Potter 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first to exploit the commercial possibilities of her characters and tales with spinoffs such as a Peter Rabbit doll, an unpublished Peter Rabbit board game, and Peter Rabbit nursery wallpaper between 1903 and 1905. Similar "side-shows" (as she termed the ancillary merchandise) were produced with her approval over the following two decades.
After Potter's death in December 1943, Frederick Warne & Co. granted licenses to various firms for the production of merchandise based on the Potter characters. Beswick Pottery of Longton, Staffordshire released six porcelain figurines beginning in 1965 depicting characters or scenes from the tale: Flopsy, Mrs. Tittlemouse, Benjamin Bunny, Peter Rabbit Digging, a Flopsy and Benjamin Bunny tableau, and a tableau depicting the sleeping bunnies under the lettuce. and, in 1984, Schmid & Co. of Toronto and Randolph, Massachusetts released a Flopsy Bunnies music box, a flat ceramic Flopsy Christmas ornament, and in 1985 a Flopsy music box. Stuffed toy manufacturers had sought licensing rights as early as 1906 for Potter's characters, but it was not until the 1970s that an English firm was granted worldwide rights. Their labour intensive products were unprofitable however, and in 1972, The Eden Toy Company of New York became the exclusive manufacturer of Potter characters. Although Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor were released as plush toys, they were associated with the Peter Rabbit tale and not with that of The Flopsy Bunnies. None of The Flopsy Bunnies characters were released as Eden plush toys.
Read more about this topic: The Tale Of The Flopsy Bunnies