The Tailor of Gloucester was privately printed by Potter in December 1902 (500 copies) and published commercially by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1903. Potter always considered it her best book — “my own favourite amongst my little books” — and it is the most artistically ambitious of her tales: the illustrations of the tailor’s workshop, the embroidered waistcoat, and the mice at work are among the finest watercolors she ever produced.
The Book
Based on a real Gloucester tailor named John Samuel Prichard, whose waistcoat was completed overnight by his assistants (not mice), the story follows the old tailor as he prepares the Mayor of Gloucester’s embroidered cherry-colored coat for his wedding on Christmas morning. He falls ill. His cat Simpkin, who is supposed to buy more cherry-colored twist (thread), has hidden the twist to punish the mice that the tailor has freed from teacups. The mice, grateful for their release, work through the night to finish the waistcoat — all except one buttonhole: “No more twist.”
Potter’s Favourite
Potter’s insistence that this was her best work is supported by the illustrations. The watercolors of the tailor’s shop — the hanging fabrics, the spools of thread, the scissors on the workbench — have a Pre-Raphaelite precision and warmth. The mice, working by candlelight to embroider the waistcoat, are rendered with the same botanical exactness Potter brought to her mushroom studies.
The Cherry-Coloured Twist
The phrase “no more twist” — the incomplete buttonhole that the mice cannot finish because Simpkin hid the thread — has entered English language as an expression for things left tantalisingly unfinished. Potter turned a real tailor’s anecdote into a parable about generosity, grudges, and redemption.
Collecting The Tailor of Gloucester
First private printing (December 1902): 500 copies. Pink boards with mounted color illustration.
Approximate market values:
- Private printing, fine: $15,000–$40,000
- Good condition: $5,000–$15,000
First trade edition (Frederick Warne & Co., London, October 1903): Boards with color illustrations.
- Fine: $3,000–$8,000
- Very good: $1,000–$3,000
Projected values (2026–2036): Strong appreciation. Potter collectibles have outperformed the broader children’s book market consistently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this Potter’s best book? Potter thought so. Critical opinion is divided between this and Peter Rabbit, but the artistry of the illustrations is widely considered Potter’s finest.
Is the tailor real? Based on John Samuel Prichard, a Gloucester tailor. The real waistcoat (completed by his assistants, not mice) is preserved in the Gloucester City Museum.