Bunnykins were the brainchild of Barbara Vernon, daughter of Cuthbert Bailey, the manager of Royal Doulton’s Stoke-on-Trent factory. The young nun had used drawings of a family of rabbits to entertain her class at convent school. Her father saw their potential as a range of nurserywares, which was launched in 1934. Six figurines, possibly modeled by Charles Noke, were then introduced in 1938, although they were somewhat different in appearance to Vernon’s original drawings. Production was interrupted by World War II, and these early, prewar examples are rare today.

Royal Doulton took over Beswick in 1969 and, encouraged by Beswick’s success with their Beatrix Potter range, the Bunnykins figures were resurrected and the range extended in 1972, being remodelled by Albert Hallam. Harry Sales became responsible for and modernized the range in 1980, introducing contemporary themes such as space travel, rock-and-roll and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Nearly 300 figures have been released so far, with more added and retired yearly. A number of backstamps have been used over the years, but do not affect value greatly. Limited editions issued in small numbers, models produced for short periods of time ad prewar models tend to the most desirable and values.