The Story Behind the Original Pooh Sketch

After sitting in a drawer for decades, a sketch of Winnie the Pooh, often referred to simply as Pooh, will be auctioned on September 27 and is expected to fetch tens of thousands of pounds.

Winnie the Pooh drawing will be auctioned on September 27. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The black and white pencil sketch of Pooh and his best friend Piglet is said to be very similar to one of the last drawings in the book Winnie the Pooh by writer Alan Alexander Milne (AA Milne) published in 1926. This book was later adapted into an animated film of the same name by director Fyodor Khitruk (Russia), making Pooh a close friend to many generations of children around the world .

Found in unexpected places

According to Dominic Winter Auctioneers, which will auction the sketch, the drawing is on a white piece of cardboard measuring 3.5 inches by 6.5 inches (8.89 cm by 16.51 cm) and has the words “EH Shepard 1958” in the lower right corner. EH Shepard is short for Ernest Howard Shepard, the illustrator of Winnie the Pooh, who later became famous for the book’s success.

Interestingly, the Winnie the Pooh sketch was only recently discovered after Christopher Foyle, grandson of William Foyle - co-founder of the British book company Foyles - contacted British auction companies, inviting them to appraise his assets. Experts estimate that the Winnie the Pooh sketch could sell for £20,000-30,000 on auction day.

Also according to Mr. Chris Albury, senior auctioneer and valuer at Dominic Winter Auctioneers, Mrs. Catherine, the surviving wife of Mr. Christopher Foyle (who died last year) discovered the painting, but not in the library but in an unexpected place.

Mr Albury noted that the painting was in a shabby frame. “It was wrapped in a tea towel and it was in the back of a drawer in the basement. It was forgotten and unloved,” Mr Albury said. “I’ve seen copies over the years and I tell people, ‘If it were real, it would be worth a lot of money… but it’s not, and it’s worthless.’”

Forgotten Assets

But this time is different. According to Mr Albury, when he auctioned off the newly discovered Winnie the Pooh on September 27, he predicted that “it could sell for tens of thousands of pounds”, and many collectors around the world were interested in it.

This expert also stated that perhaps artist EH Shepard painted this picture during a lunch organized by Ms. Christina Foyle, niece of Mr. William Foyle - founder of the British Foyles Book Company - and also aunt of Mr. Christopher Foyle.

Mr Albury said the illustration was “carefully done as you can still see the pencil lines underneath the ink which the artist EH Shepard later erased when he finished the pen drawing”. “It is safe to say that it was never appreciated by her (Christina Foyle), or Christopher, and it is the only one in the last 20 or 30 years that will fetch a significant amount of money,” Mr Albury stressed.

Winnie the Pooh is a classic children's literature about the main character, the belly-baring bear Pooh, and his friends Piglet, Owl, Tigger, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, Eeyore, and Christopher Robin. The story follows the lovely bear's daily life and his exciting adventures with his friends, through which he teaches children valuable lessons about kindness and how to behave kindly towards those around him.

Many people want to own Pooh bear drawings
On July 10, 2018, Sotheby's in London (UK) held an auction of another drawing from the Pooh story from 1926 by artist EH Shepard that was found after being forgotten for nearly half a century. The map drawing "Hundred Acre Wood" by artist Shepard was sold for 430,000 pounds (nearly 13 billion VND) at that time, also a record price for a book illustration, although the auction house initially thought it would sell for about 100,000 to 150,000 pounds. Sotheby's described the Hundred Acre Wood as "perhaps the most famous map in children's literature".
Winnie the Pooh illustrations are very popular. In 2014, a Winnie the Pooh drawing by artist EH Shepard was sold for £314,500.

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