Picture that proved Tiggers don't like honey

By Tony Watts - Editor - 08/05/2007

Two rare illustrations featuring the adventures of A.A. Milne’s much-loved creation, Winnie-the-Pooh by Ernest H. Shepard (1879 – 1976), are to go under the hammer at Bonhams in London later this month.

“Tiggers don’t like honey” and “Pooh visiting in Owl’s parlour” are expected to fetch between £20,000 – 30,000 each at Bonhams’ Sale of Modern Pictures and Illustrations at Knightsbridge on 22 May 2007.
 
“Tiggers don’t like honey”, in coloured crayon and measuring 11 x 12 cm, was drawn as an illustration for the 1958 edition of The World of Pooh, but it was not included in the printed version.
 
“Pooh visiting in Owl’s parlour” measures 10.5 x 12 cm, and was published in the 1929 Methuen edition of Winnie-the-Pooh.
 
The sale also includes four studies by Shepard for Milne’s poem ‘Missing,’ which famously begins “Has anybody seen my mouse?” and is estimated to fetch between £4,000 – 6,000.
 
Further charming illustrations from favourite children’s books also feature in the sale, such as a scene from Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows ‘by Michael Foreman for £400 – 600, a sketch of Captain Pugwash by John Ryan; and Dr Seuss’s Cat in the Hat for £1,500 – 2,000.