The trove of original sketches, drafts, and correspondence that once belonged to Winnie-the-Pooh creator A.A. Milne just sold for $118,000 at auction.
Fieldings AuctioneersThe collection of Winnie-the-Pooh manuscripts and sketches found in Leslie Smith’s attic.
For nearly a century, the beloved children’s book series Winnie-the-Pooh has charmed readers worldwide. Now, a trove of previously unseen drafts and sketches has turned up in an attic in Malvern, England, adding to the rich history of the iconic bear.
The collection was found in the home of Leslie Smith, a former publisher who died in November 2023. As Smith’s son, Simon, was cleaning out his father’s attic, he came across a plastic bag full of various papers that had once belonged to the series’ creator, A.A. Milne. Inside were Winnie-the-Pooh manuscripts as well as correspondence between Milne and his illustrator and publisher. Now, the documents have sold at auction for $118,000.
So, how did these papers end up in Leslie Smith’s attic?
Simon Smith Discovers A Rare ‘Winnie-The-Pooh’ Collection In His Father’s Attic
Last year, Simon Smith was cleaning out his late father’s attic in Malvern, England, when he discovered a plastic bag full of papers.
“We were just clearing out the attic and found a plastic carrier bag full of letters,” Smith explained to the BBC. “We started going through them and found many signatures we couldn’t even decipher — and then we found the A.A. Milne. We were a bit gobsmacked, to say the least.”
Fieldings AuctioneersCover art for The Christopher Robin Birthday Book.
On Dec. 24, 1925, Winnie-the-Pooh made his debut in A.A. Milne’s “The Wrong Sort of Bees,” a story published in the London Evening News. The lovable characters were an instant hit, and the children’s series ultimately became a multi-million dollar media franchise that would later be purchased by Disney.
Smith’s collection dated back to the early days of Winnie-the-Pooh and contained original manuscripts, poems, illustrations, and letters between A.A. Milne and his illustrator, E.H. Shepard.
“The collection includes design ideas for individual Christmas cards from characters including Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore,” wrote Fieldings Auctioneers, the auction house that recently sold the papers. The trove also included “a stream of planning letters and original mock ups of Now We Are Six and The House at Pooh Corner, but most excitingly are the original penned mock ups for Christopher Robin’s Birthday Book, including a sensational and heart-warming original pen and ink drawing of Pooh and Piglet walking side by side in the snow.”
However, Leslie Smith’s collection extended beyond Winnie-the-Pooh content. As Simon Smith sifted through each paper, letter, and illustration, he uncovered a broader picture of his father’s successful career in the publishing industry.
The Collection’s Origins And Its Fate At Auction
Fieldings AuctioneersA sketch of Winnie-the-Pooh with Piglet discovered in Leslie Smith’s attic.
Leslie Smith founded Cressrelles Publishing Company in 1971, and he eventually took over the business of Frederick Muller, the publisher of Winnie-the-Pooh. However, Simon had no idea his father had an attic full of literary treasures. When he first discovered the plastic bag full of papers, he assumed they were simply business documents.
“I knew we had some letters from authors,” Simon Smith told the BBC. “But I assumed it was our authors… playwrights that we handled. I thought he’d kept those in case they were worth anything in the future.”
Instead, Simon found that his father had maintained connections with some of the most prominent writers in history. In addition to Milne’s documents, the collection of papers contained correspondence with none other than J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of the Lord of the Rings series.
Simon SmithLeslie Smith, pictured here, worked in the publishing industry for most of his life.
While the Smith family was thrilled to uncover their late father’s remarkable collection, they believed the documents would be better appreciated by others.
“There’s four of us [children] and plenty of grandchildren and lots of great-grandchildren, so where would they go in the family?” Smith told the BBC. “We would like to see them somewhere useful.”
The Smith family’s discovery was divided into 34 lots and sold for $118,000 to both American and British buyers at an auction held by Fieldings Auctioneers. Given the rarity and historical significance of the items, the auction house was not surprised by the strong interest and impressive final sale price.
“These are incredibly unique,” auctioneer Will Farmer told the BBC. “Within everything that everybody all around the world knows about Milne… these are to my mind probably one of the last little pieces of the puzzle that will complete the whole story.”
After reading about the Winnie-the-Pooh collection found in an English attic, view the collection of J.R.R. Tolkien drawings that were released after his death. Then, read about 11 unbelievably valuable items purchased at thrift stores.