Anticipated Auction: Long-Lost Winnie the Pooh Sketch to Fetch Up to $38,000

• A previously undiscovered drawing by E. H. Shepard, the illustrator of “Winnie-the-Pooh,” has been found in a cellar.
• The drawing, made in 1958, is a small card sketch in ink and pencil.
• Auctioneer and valuer Chris Albury estimates that the drawing could fetch tens of thousands of pounds in a sale.

An overlooked drawing by E. H. Shepard, the renowned illustrator of “Winnie-The-Pooh,” has been discovered in an unexpected place – hidden in a cabinet and wrapped in a dish towel.

The drawing, which is an original artwork signed and dated by Shepard in 1958, can be found on the final pages of A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-The-Pooh,” according to CNN.

It was unearthed in the cellar of Christopher Foyle, the former owner of the English bookshop chain Foyles, as reported by The Telegraph. After Foyle’s passing in 2022, auctioneers evaluating his possessions and antiques stumbled upon the hidden treasure, as stated by CNN.

The auctioneers believe that the drawing could have been unintentionally misplaced or forgotten for many years.

Chris Albury, a senior auctioneer at Dominic Winter Auctioneers, the auction house handling the sale, expressed the incredible value of the sketch, estimating it to be worth tens of thousands of pounds.

In a press release from the auctioning house, the sketch is expected to fetch between £20,000 and £30,000 (approximately $25,000 to $38,000) at auction.

This sketch is a re-drawing by Shepard, with the original 1925 copy being sold in New York for over $200,000 in 2022.

While not on the same level as the original drawing created for the book centuries ago, Chris Albury mentioned to CNN that it holds immense sentimental value for adults and children even after nearly a century since its first publication.

The sketch, along with other items from Foyle’s library, will be up for auction on September 27, as stated on the Dominic Winter website.

Compared to other famous illustrations from older books or comics, the Shepard drawing holds a higher appraisal.

For instance, drawings by Quentin Blake, known for illustrating the works of author Roald Dahl, are valued at around $2,500 to $4,000, as seen on Invaluable. Additionally, an Eric Carle hand-painted collage showcasing the titular character from “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is valued at approximately $10,000, according to Artsy.

At the time of writing, Dominic Winter Auctioneers had not responded to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.