Early Life and Popularity
Potter's family ran The White Lion pub in Bramber, and as a teenager, his first attempt at taxidermy was to preserve the body of his own pet canary. At the age of 19, inspired by his sister, Jane, who showed him an illustrated book of nursery rhymes, Potter produced what was to become the centrepiece of his museum, a diorama of "The Death and Burial of Cock Robin", which included 98 species of British birds. This was so well-received that in 1861, he opened a separate display in the summer house of the pub. While satisfying the Victorian demand for traditional stuffed animals to earn a living, Potter continued creating his dioramas and expanded into new premises in 1866, and again in 1880. As his museum expanded, Potter married a local girl, Ann Stringer Muzzell, and they had three children, Walter, Annie and Minnie.
Amongst his scenes were "a rats' den being raided by the local police rats ... village school ... featuring 48 little rabbits busy writing on tiny slates, while the Kittens' Tea Party displayed feline etiquette and a game of croquet. A guinea pigs' cricket match was in progress, and 20 kittens attended a wedding, wearing little morning suits or brocade dresses, with a feline vicar in white surplice." Potter's attention to detail in these scenes has been noted, to the extent that "The kittens even wear frilly knickers under their formal attire!" Apart from the simulations of human situations, he had also added examples of bizarrely deformed animals such as two-headed lambs and four-legged chickens. Potter's collection, billed as "Mr Potter's Museum of Curiosities" was to build into a "world-famous example of Victorian whimsy", with special coach trips from Brighton being arranged; and the village and Potter's museum were so popular that an extension was built to the platform at Bramber railway station.
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