A Rare Steiff Peter Rabbit dating from 1904/1906 will be auctioned on Tuesday 14 March. Standing 9" high in good condition and is extremely collectable for two reasons - one, he is one of the first Beatrix Potter toys manufactured and secondly, he is also a Steiff, one of the most collectable names in the toy world!

A book about the adventures of "Peter Rabbit" was first published in 1902. As a result Beatrix Potter achieved worldwide acclaim - not only illustrating her own book she produced a Peter Rabbit doll - and registered it at a Patent Office in London. Steiff eventually manufactured the accurate representation, right down to his clothing.

Two other bears that will be 'stars of the show' are a handsome golden mohair Steiff bear c.1910 standing 24" high with good mohair coverage estimated £2000 - £3000 and an early American red mohair teddy bear, c.1910 standing 17" high estimated £200 - £400.

There will be over 400 lots to include modern Artist Bears by Changle, Robin Rive, Sinclair and others. Steiff Limited Editions, old British and German bears. There is a fine section of ex-shop stock Bears of Grace by Jo Vernalls beautifully presented in their vintage fabric outfits - on offer well below retail price. Also antique and modern dolls.

Boxed Steiff Limited Editions include muzzle bears, Dicky Bear. A set of Wind in the Willows. Also older Steiff and other German manufacture dating from the 1950s. British manufactures are represented by Farnell with 1920s and 1930s golden mohair bears, Merrythought and Deans and a Pedigree Dougal from The Magic Roundabout.

There is a Pelham Puppet section of some 60+ models including Florence and Ermintrude. From the same vendor an exceptional Pelham Puppet Theatre dating from the early 1980s of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, larger scale, in full working order, which has been acquired from a well know North Yorkshire Department Store.

For more details visit the Vectis web site.

Visit the WCN Beatrix Potter information pages and message board.