A collection of letters sent between Winnie the Pooh author AA Milne, illustrator EH Shepherd and publisher Frederick Muller is to be sold at auction.
They were discovered among papers belonging to Malvern man Leslie Smith, who worked in the publishing industry.
They include manuscripts, autographs, drafts and corrected proofs for Now We Are Six, and The House at Pooh Corner and other Winnie the Pooh material.
The 28 plots, will be sold by Fieldings Auctioneers in Stourbridge on January 16, has fetched guide prices of between £100 and £1,200.
Clive Farahar, a book specialist who helped evaluate the collection, said: “This is an incredible discovery in the world of Winnie the Pooh, especially when it was thought that all the documents were accounted for.”
He said they were a joy to read and provided “further insight into our favorite honey-loving bear”.
The letters include design ideas for Winnie the Pooh Christmas cards and designs for a Christopher Robin birthday book, including a pen and ink drawing of Pooh and Winnie walking side by side in the snow.
Fieldings said the letters also showed “moments of creative excitement” and a letter written on behalf of Winnie herself, dated March 28, 1928.
It reads: “By the way, Pooh strongly objects to being called a ‘fantastic monster’ in today’s Observer…”
Fieldings said the material “probably represents the last collection of documents and manuscripts to come to market”.
