A Marvelous Rabbit

Carol found this beauty, and wondered if it was the white rabbit from Lewis Carroll’s 1865 ‘Alice in Wonderland’. If the plastic was bakelite/catalin then it would originally have been white. In the original text the rabbit is described as “white with pink eyes” who takes “a watch out of its waistcoat pocket”. The original illustration by John Tenniel had him wearing a jacket over the waistcoat.

The Disney version adds the Pince-nez glasses upon his nose. The button rabbit seems to be wearing a tailcoat, unlike the original illustration, or those that followed. I do remember that Bugs would wear a tailcoat when conducting a cartoon orchestra, but it doesn’t look like him! His pose is more like that of Peter Rabbit, but with a different jacket.

In summary: I think he is a handsome rabbit who owes a little of his heritage to both the White Rabbit and Peter Rabbit, and I wish it was mine.

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