Long-Lost Winnie the Pooh Sketch Found in a Tea Towel

Winnie-the-Pooh collectors with deep pockets might be interested in a UK auction next month: What is believed to be the last sketch of Pooh done by illustrator E.H. Shepard will be up for sale at Dominic Winter Auctioneers. Shepard drew the images for the A.A. Milne classic published in 1926. This particular sketch shows Pooh and Piglet walking into the sunset. While it matches one of the illustrations in the book, this one appears to be have been drawn years afterward—in 1958—likely for an annual event known as Foyles Literary Lunches, per Yahoo News.

"The drawing was found wrapped in a tea towel at the back of a drawer in a cellar," says Chris Albury of the auction house, per CNN. "It had been forgotten and unloved." It was discovered by the widow of Christopher Foyles, who was the grandson of William Foyle, founder of the UK bookshop Foyles. While original sketches linked to the book have sold for six figures, the auction house expects a more modest ceiling for this one of about $40,000. (More Winnie the Pooh stories.)