The Hums of Pooh, Poohsticks Illustration, and A. A. Milne Letters to Auction

A collection of manuscripts, draft illustrations, and correspondence relating to Winnie-the-Pooh, A. A. Milne, and Ernest Shepard runs at Bonhams online until December 18.

Leading the items is an early autograph manuscript of The Hums of Pooh by Milne which was published in 1929 comprising the title page and a draft of each of the introductions for 17 songs (estimate: $30,000-$50,000). The songs come from Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner and include How Sweet to Be a Cloud and Cottleston Pie.

Other items include:

* an original pencil drawing by Shepard featuring Christopher Robin and characters from When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six, possibly an unused preliminary illustration for The Christopher Robin Book of Verse (estimate: $8,000-$12,000)

* And that was the beginning of the game Poohsticks preliminary drawing in pencil by Shepard of Pooh gathering fir-cones to drop into the river, from The Pooh Story Book (Dutton, 1965) (estimate: $6,000-$9,000)

* archive of 13 autograph letters signed "A.A. Milne" or "A.A.M." or "Blue" to John and Elliott B. Macrae ("Jimmy"), his American publishers on Winnie-the-Pooh and other works, and World War II, and life in general (estimate: $6,000-$9,000)

* archive of 17 autograph letters signed "E.H. Shepard" and "Kipper" and "Norah and Kipper" to John Macrae and Elliott B. Macrae and his wife Marjorie of E.P. Dutton, his American publisher, on Winnie-the-Pooh and other subjects, both business and personal (estimate: $5,000-$8,000)

* a copy of the first American deluxe edition of Winnie-the-Pooh (New York, E. P. Dutton, 1926) signed by Milne and Shepard in original publisher's box (estimate: $4,000-$6,000)

* a very personal archive of letters from the Milne family, Daphne, Christopher (Robin), and Lesley, to John Macrae, Elliott B. Macrae ("Jimmie"), and Marjorie [Knight] Macrae (estimate: $2,000-$3,000)