A drawing of Winnie-the-Pooh believed to be the last ever by inaugural illustrator E.H. Shepard has been found in the back of a drawer - wrapped in a tea towel.
The 'grubby framed' sketch of Pooh and Piglet was discovered in the cellar of Christopher Foyle, the former chairman of Foyles bookshops, who died last year.
It is dated 1958 and signed E.H. Shepard - who illustrated A.A. Milne's original 1926 storybook Winnie-the-Pooh.
Original drawings have previously sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds and auctioneers hope that this sketch, which is thought to be the last one of Pooh that Mr Shepard ever did, will fetch a similar amount.
Shepard's sketch was found by Christopher's widow, Cathy Foyle, and hongkong grand 4d bookseller Matthew Butler.
The original sketch of Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet is believed to be the last one ever drawn by illustrator E.H. Shepard
It was found in a 'grubby' frame, wrapped in a tea towel and stuffed in the back of a drawer, at the home of late ex-Foyles chairman Christopher Foyle
Chris Albury of Dominic Winter Auctioneers believes the drawing may have been created for one of the legendary Foyles Literary Lunches
Chris Albury, of Dominic Winter Auctioneers, says Shepard, then 79, may have done the sketch for one of the events.
He said: 'This drawing was recently discovered in the library and effects of the Late Christopher Foyle of Beeleigh Abbey, near Maldon in Essex.
'Rather than proudly on display on a wall, it was in a cheap frame with tape across the glass and wrapped in an old tea towel at the back of a cellar drawer.
'We see reproductions of this famous drawing from time to time which have no value so I was shocked to see that this was unmistakably an original, even through the dusty, taped glass.
'It's not in the same league as the original drawing made for the book in the 1920s but it is identical and the only other one of the same illustration to have apparently come on the market so we are confident that £20,000-£30,000 will be an attractive estimate.'
The 'grubby framed' sketch of Pooh and Piglet was discovered in the cellar of Christopher Foyle, the former chairman of Foyles bookshops, who died last year.
It is dated 1958 and signed E.H. Shepard - who illustrated A.A. Milne's original 1926 storybook Winnie-the-Pooh.
Original drawings have previously sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds and auctioneers hope that this sketch, which is thought to be the last one of Pooh that Mr Shepard ever did, will fetch a similar amount.
Shepard's sketch was found by Christopher's widow, Cathy Foyle, and hongkong grand 4d bookseller Matthew Butler.
The original sketch of Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet is believed to be the last one ever drawn by illustrator E.H. Shepard
It was found in a 'grubby' frame, wrapped in a tea towel and stuffed in the back of a drawer, at the home of late ex-Foyles chairman Christopher Foyle
Chris Albury of Dominic Winter Auctioneers believes the drawing may have been created for one of the legendary Foyles Literary Lunches
Chris Albury, of Dominic Winter Auctioneers, says Shepard, then 79, may have done the sketch for one of the events.
He said: 'This drawing was recently discovered in the library and effects of the Late Christopher Foyle of Beeleigh Abbey, near Maldon in Essex.
'Rather than proudly on display on a wall, it was in a cheap frame with tape across the glass and wrapped in an old tea towel at the back of a cellar drawer.
'We see reproductions of this famous drawing from time to time which have no value so I was shocked to see that this was unmistakably an original, even through the dusty, taped glass.
'It's not in the same league as the original drawing made for the book in the 1920s but it is identical and the only other one of the same illustration to have apparently come on the market so we are confident that £20,000-£30,000 will be an attractive estimate.'
