Winnie the Pooh map, illustrated by EH Shepard, sets record for most expensive book illustration at $570,000

A map of the Hundred Acre Wood, drawn in 1926 by illustrator EH Shepard has set a new record at Sotheby’s in London as the most expensive book illustration ever sold, for $570,000, reports Architectural Digest (AD). The map was at the beginning of AA Milne’s classic tale Winnie-the-Pooh which is one of the most-read children’s stories of all time.

The map carefully portrays the homes of all the beloved characters from the book such as, Christopher Robin, Pooh Bear, Piglet, Owl, Eeyore, and Kanga and Roo, in addition to other local spots. As per the same report , “The characters themselves are pictured throughout with a dash of personality; Pooh sits contemplatively on a log outside of his house, Roo bounces happily towards the sandpit where he plays, and Eeyore bows his head outside of his ‘gloomy place,’ which is described as ‘rather boggy and sad.’ The map is drawn with a childish charm; misspelled words like ‘rox’ and ‘aker’ are peppered throughout, while a label at the bottom reads ‘Drawn by me and Mr Shepard helpd’.” [caption id=“attachment_4714911” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] The map illustrated by E H Shepard. Image from Twitter/Sotheby’s[/caption] Forty years after the map was first published, it appeared in the Disney film Winnie-the-Pooh and the Honey Tree, where it was brought to life as an animation in the film’s opening sequence. The map was sold along with four other original Winnie-the-Pooh sketches which were unveiled to audiences after nearly 50 years. The Guardian  reports that the five drawings sold for a combined total of £917,500, including buyer’s premium. Experts had estimated the five would sell for £310,000-£440,000.