Pooh in Pencil: Sketches for the Original Winnie the Pooh Book Shared for the First Time | fee

Previously unseen drawings of Winnie the Pooh have come to light, showing the honey-loving bear before he was introduced to generations of readers in the 1926 book.

Two preliminary pencil drawings by E.H. Shepard have been shared for the first time by his family to mark the centenary of one of the most beloved books in children’s literature.

Having been abandoned in the early phase of the book’s creation, the drawings provide a rare glimpse into Shepherd’s working process and imagination as he brought the character of AA Milne to life. They depict passages familiar to readers but which were not accompanied by illustrations in the original published book.

A pencil drawing, captioned: “Climbing gingerly over the river”, showing Pooh and his adventure-loving friends Christopher Robin, Piglet and Owl. It was intended for Chapter 8, in which Christopher Robin leads an “explanation” to the North Pole.

In this clip, Milne wrote: “‘We’re all going on an expedition,’ said Christopher Robin, as he got up and cleaned himself off. ‘Thank you, Pooh.’

“Going on the fair?” said Pooh impatiently. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in one of those before. Where are we going on this show?

“The Expedition, you silly old bear. It has an “x” in it.”

“‘Oh!’ Pooh said. “I know.” But he didn’t really do that.

Another sketch that was never published in the final book is a close study of the third act, in which Pooh and Piglet go hunting and almost catch Woozle.

The drawings will be on display at Peter Harrington Rare Books in Dover Street, central London, as part of an exhibition opening on April 17.

Philip W. Errington, a senior Peter Harrington specialist, described the drawings as “very special.” He said:[In] These initial sketches, Shepard put these first ideas down on paper, and there’s absolute, vibrant creativity going on there.

“The skill he has brought to rendering the action is truly quite extraordinary. The pencil marks across that page are truly beautifully executed. You have the quick creativity as well as Shepard’s signature movement. These pieces really jump off the page.”

He added: “It is extremely rare that we encounter preliminary drawings of Winnie the Pooh that capture what might be called the first moment of inspiration – the moment in which Shepard thinks through action, character and narrative in pencil alone.”

“You can see Christopher Robin in the foreground,” he said of “climbing gingerly up the river.” [Pooh] It’s really very special and Piglet is beautifully designed, but it has a little arrow at the bottom where it’s positioned “closer”. Maybe he was having some problem with how those letters appeared on the page. You also have Kanga and Eeyore.

Errington was a consultant for the Victoria and Albert Museum’s 2017 Shepherd exhibition, to which the artist bequeathed most of his preliminary drawings in 1969. “There are two types of drawing – the preliminary drawings, which are usually done in pencil, where he starts creating the image and manipulating it and deducing what will happen, and the final drawings,” he said.