MILNE, A. A. & Ernest H. Shepard. Autograph Letter - (c.1928 - A FRAGMENT OF AN APPARENT UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT FOR THE “POOH CLOCK”)

AUTHOR: MILNE, A. A. & Ernest H. Shepard.

TITLE: Autograph Letter, n.d. (c.1928).

DESCRIPTION: A FRAGMENT OF AN APPARENT UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPT FOR THE “POOH CLOCK”. 1 page, 9-1/4" x 8-1/8", written in ink and pencil, on plain unlined paper, perforated along left edge.

CONDITION: Folded in the center, in VERY GOOD+ condition.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: A charming and historically significant letter written by A. A. Milne to his longtime collaborator and illustrator, E. H. Shepard, revealing a previously unseen glimpse into the creative world of the Pooh books. The letter, dating from around 1928 during the preparation of The House at Pooh Corner, contains Milne’s draft wording for a proposed inscription to accompany an unpublished Shepard illustration titled “A little something”. The drawing, depicting a whimsical “Pooh clock,” which was never included in the final book but interesting enough that the clock in the illustration on page 3 of “Pooh Corner” has the same exact time. Written in ink by Milne and later amended in pencil, the letter sets out two possible inscriptions for the illustration.

One reads:
“This Clock was Invented & Drawn by ERNEST H. SHEPARD for his friends POOH & PIGLET, to Encourage that Punctuality which is the Politeness of Princes and all other People who begin with a P.”

A second, shorter version follows:
“This Clock was drawn by ERNEST H. SHEPARD for his friends POOH & PIGLET, to Encourage them in Habits of Punctuality”.

The page is further annotated in red ink along the lower edge by Milne “Suggested ‘Inscription’ for Pooh clock”.

Shepard himself later reviewed the suggestions, circling one in pencil and writing the approving note: “I like this one EHS.”

The letter was discovered tucked inside a copy of Shepard’s memoir, Drawn from Memory (1957 included with the letter). On the book’s opening page is a penciled note, possibly in Shepherd’s hand, reading “Inscriptions for Pooh clock”. The document was possibly preserved among Shepard’s own working papers as the book in which the letter was found is believed to have been part of Shepard’s personal library.

While the inscription drafts relate to Shepard’s illustration, the drawing itself - “A little something” - was never published in the Pooh books. The original artwork for the “Pooh Clock” is held in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in Hobart, Australia.

The letter provides a rare and seldom seen glimpse into the collaboration between Milne and Shepard as they brought to life the world of Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends, including Piglet. Characters that have delighted readers for now over a century.

Milne bequeathed the original manuscript for Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner to his alma mater, Trinity College, Cambridge, where it remains in the historic Wren Library so any related artifacts are like holy relics to collectors. This fragment is such a charming item and the interchange between writer and illustrator offers a rare glimpse into the working relationship of one of the most famous collaborations in children’s literature.