Sotheby's London held a few sales on Wednesday, including a large collection of E.H. Shepard illustrations for Winnie the Pooh. The illustrations (plus a couple of the Pooh books) fetched 1.2 million GBP, beating expectations and setting records for Shepard drawings. Full results are here. The top seller was this illustration of Pooh and Piglet tracking a woozle; it fetched 115,200 GBP, almost doubling its high estimate.
There was also a sale of English Literature, History, Children's Books and Illustrations, for which the results are here. The total for that sale was 901,913 GBP. Some highlights:
- A first edition of Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776) from the library of Sir Christopher Sykes made 63,650 GBP.
- A first edition of Phillis Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects (1773) sold for 11,250 GBP.
- An extra illustrated commemoration volume of the life of Lord Byron containing some 170 manuscripts, mezzotints and engravings fetched 37,250 GBP.
- Beatrix Potter illustrations continued to sell very well: one sold for 67,250 GBP, and three more fetched over 20,000 GBP.
