This is the edition that was printed by Beatrix Potter before she could find a publisher, which finally occurred the following year. It was in black and white and initially only 250 copies were printed. Soon after, a publisher was found and the illustrations were given color. This is facsimile of that very first edition, printed in 1901 at Potter's expense. While not exactly the version that would become known to children, it is still fun to see how history was first made!