THE ever-popular children’s books of Lakeland author, illustrator and conservationist Beatrix Potter are likely to make some outstanding prices at auction at the end of the month.

Several rare and early examples of her work are included in the March 30 sale by London-based Forum Auctions.

Likely to make the biggest price is the book which made the author’s name – The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

A pre-sale estimate of £15,000 to £20,000 has been placed on a first edition, first printing, of the book from December 1901.

The same book, but in a second printing of 250 copies, is set to make £8,000 to £12,000.

Also on offer is a rare English version from 1929 for a book called The Fairy Caravan, which was aimed at Beatrix Potter’s fans in the United States.

Just 100 were printed in England and this example is expected to make £2,000 to £3,000.

The same sale also has Beatrix Potter’s own copy of A Window in the Thrums by J. M. Barrie, published in 1889.

It has an inscription “Beatrix Potter, Hill Top, Sawrey” and should sell for £500 to £700.

The author lived from 1866 to 1943 and moved to Hill Top in 1943. She left the bulk of her property to the National Trust.

Forum Auctions also has an example of The Nature of the Gothic by Coniston critic and artist John Ruskin.

This example is from the Kelmscott Press in 1892 and is one of just 500 copies produced.

It should sell for £700 to £900.

The March 15 sale by Woolley and Wallis at Salisbury has a watercolour study of rocks in the Lake District, near Ambleside, by Joseph Powell, who lived from 1780 to 1834. It is expected to sell for £200 to £400.

The March 18 sale by Lockdales of Ipswich has a silver medal with a case dated 1866 for the Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry Cavalry. It should sell for £70 to £80.

Also on offer is a pair of hospital parade postcards, including one from Barrow in September 1934, rated at £30 to £40 and a ticket to the Wembley Rugby League Challenge Cup Final of May 7 in 1938 when Barrow lost to Salford. It should make £25 to £30.

The March 27 to 29 sale by James and Sons of Fakenham, Norfolk, expects £15 to £20 for an unused cheque for the Ulverston branch of the Lancaster Banking Company.

A sale on March 13 by 1818 Auctioneers at Crooklands has a reproduction of a Furness Railway coat of arms which has been mounted and framed. It should make £40 to £60.

A remarkable £1,200 was paid for a single record by a folk-rock group at a specialist auction of music, instruments and vinyl at 1818 Auctioneers.

The album is called Just Our Way of Saying Hello and was recorded in 1974 under the collective name Courtyard Music Group – featuring teenagers from Kilquhanity School in Dumfries and Galloway.

Only 100 copies were produced and this example came complete with original inserts.

The March 15 sale by Bearnes, Hampton and Littlewood at Exeter has a group of seven large exhibition photographs from the mid-19 th century by Lucie M. Jones.

Two of the mounted pictures show Cartmel Priory and the group of seven is expected to sell by £30 to £50.