I shall tell you a story about four little rabbits

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Beatrix Potter by Charles G.Y. King, vintage snapshot print, May 1913, NPG P1825

On this day in 1893, 26-year-old Beatrix Potter sat down to write a letter to Noel Moore, the five-year-old son of her friend and former governess, Annie Moore, in which she told the story of four rabbits—one of whom, Peter, would later hop his way into the hearts of million…