Three hand-painted porcelain Beatrix Potter-style animal ornaments with gold cords on a glass cabinet shelf

FEATURED FIND

Schmid Beatrix Potter Ornaments

Three hand-painted storybook figures on a glass shelf: who made them, when, and how to recognise the early Japanese line.

The short answer

Schmid's Beatrix Potter ornaments are hand-painted porcelain figures sold under a Frederick Warne & Co. license and made in Japan. The figural line ran from about 1982 to 1987. Schmid, a family importer in Randolph, Massachusetts, held the license for 18 years and had brought Hummel figurines to US shops in 1935.

Item Details

Type: Figural hanging tree ornament
Category: Decorative Objects
Designer: After Beatrix Potter illustrations
Maker / Manufacturer: Schmid
Model / Series: Beatrix Potter Creations
Date Range: c. 1982–1987
Style: Hand-painted storybook figural
Region of Origin: Japan
Materials: porcelain

What we spotted

A bonnet-wearing figure, a rabbit in a green coat and a figure in a flowered hat, standing in a glass display cabinet among wine glasses

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Found by a Tocuro user. Their original photo.

Gold hanging cords. All three keep the thin gold cord that dealer listings describe on these Japanese-made ornaments.
A holly-sprigged parcel. The rabbit holds a white parcel painted with green holly leaves and a red berry, the piece's Christmas touch.
A woven brown basket, painted in deep plum-brown and carried low, with a pale yellow bundle tucked inside.
A hairline across the skirt. A thin brown line runs over the peach dress, which looks like a glaze crack rather than painted detail.

What are Schmid Beatrix Potter ornaments?

Schmid began in a basement as a family importer run by Paul A. Schmid and his three sons. In 1977 it won the right to distribute Beatrix Potter merchandise, and gift stores soon set up Beatrix Potter sections of their own.

Over 18 years Schmid produced hundreds of Potter items, from music boxes and nightlights to a small ceramic village and 3-D ornaments like these. Rabbits in the ornament line included Poorly Peter Rabbit and Mrs Flopsy Bunny.

Why is it special?

Peter Rabbit started character licensing. Potter registered her Peter Rabbit doll designs at the patent office in 1903, making him the world's oldest licensed literary character. Schmid's ornaments, sold under a Warne license, came straight out of the system she began.
The license carried legal weight. Peter Rabbit was never protected in the US, which cost Potter a great deal of income. In a 1979 New York case, Warne admitted seven tales were public domain but claimed trademark rights in its licensed illustrations, and the court held that public domain status did not block trademark protection.

Meet the trio

Bonnet and basket figure

Pink bonnet, white apron over a yellow dress, brown basket.

Green-coat rabbit

Tall pink ears, green coat, pink ruff, pale blue base.

Flower-hat figure

Brown hat with yellow flowers, peach gown, blue brooch.

How to tell the early line from later Schmid ornaments

Check	Schmid, c. 1982–1987	Later Schmid, to 1995
Packaging	Tag with character name, Beatrix Potter Creations	Blue windowed box marked Collectible Ornament
Dating	FW Co copyright with a year, e.g. 1982	Issues like 1992's 100 Years of Peter Rabbit
Made in	Japan	Some pieces made in Malaysia

See this find on TocuroItem details and market snapshot

Questions people ask

What does FW Co on a Schmid Beatrix Potter tag mean?

It stands for Frederick Warne & Co., Potter's publisher, which licensed her characters. On these ornaments it appears alongside a copyright year such as 1982.

When did Schmid stop making Beatrix Potter items?

Schmid stayed a major Potter distributor until it closed in December 1995. The figural ornament line ended earlier, around 1987.

How big are Schmid Beatrix Potter ornaments?

A 1980s Schmid Peter Rabbit porcelain ornament is listed at about 3 inches tall, a useful guide for figures like these three.

Did Schmid make the ANRI Beatrix Potter ornaments?

No. ANRI made those in Italy from 1978, and Schmid only distributed them. Their marks read F. Warne & Co. and Italy.