Beatrix Potter's "Sally Henny Penny" Figure by Beswick

Offered for sale is the Beswick "Sally Henny Penny" figurine which was issued under three backstamps, Bp3a, Bp3b and Bp3c and was first introduced in 1974. This particular version has the backstamp Bp3a which was used for 1973 and 1974. The Beswick Figurine was finally retired in 1988 when Royal Albert took over production and continued the figure until 1993. Sally is a brown and gold chicken and wears a black hat and cloak, she has a couple of yellow chicks at her feet. Sally Henny Penny appears in Beatrix Potter's 1905 book "The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle", in which her name is spelled "Sally Henny-penny" and is mentioned thus. "There are also what look like two long yellow gloves. Mrs Tiggy-Winkle explains that they are stockings that belong to Sally Henny-penny. Mrs Tiggy-Winkle points out that the hen has worn holes in her stockings by scratching at the ground and that the bird will soon have to go barefoot". She is also referred to in Potter's "The Tale of Tom Kitten" book published two years later in 1907. In the story it states that. When the three kittens were ready, Mrs Tabitha unwisely turned them out into the garden, to be out of the way while she made hot buttered toast. “Now keep your frocks clean, children! You must walk on your hind legs. Keep away from the dirty ash-pit, and from Sally Henny Penny, and from the pigsty and the Puddle-ducks.”