A.A. Milne (1882-1956) - photo 1
A.A. Milne (1882-1956) - photo 2
A.A. Milne (1882-1956) - photo 3
A.A. Milne (1882-1956) - photo 4
A.A. Milne (1882-1956) - photo 5
A.A. Milne (1882-1956) - photo 6
A.A. Milne (1882-1956) - photo 7
A.A. Milne (1882-1956) - photo 8
A.A. Milne (1882-1956) - photo 9

A.A. Milne (1882-1956)

Lot 103
10.07.2024 10:30UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 17 640
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1249745
Lot 103 | A.A. Milne (1882-1956)
Estimate value
£ 10 000 – 15 000
A.A. Milne (1882-1956)
Annotated typescript, an early draft of When we were Very Young with autograph emendations, n.d. [late 1923 or early 1924]
33 pages, 260 x 203mm, two of the leaves featuring an unpublished poem, one with an original photograph of Christopher Robin pasted down, a few autograph emendations in ink, ‘WHEN WE WERE VERY YOUNG’ supplied in autograph on a title page featuring Milne’s address on Mallord Street, with further pencil annotations in another hand, presumably the publisher’s, four leaves present in duplicate. In two blue paper folders, one titled in autograph and signed.

Provenance:
(1) Apparently from the papers of E.H. Shepard (1879-1976); included with the present lot are two letters to Shepard [described below], dated c.1924 and 1947.

(2) Sotheby’s New York, 15 December 1986, lot 69.

An early draft for When we were Very Young, featuring an unpublished prefatory poem illustrated with a hitherto-unseen photograph of the young Christopher Robin. Apparently from the papers of E.H. Shepard. The typescript contains twenty-three poems in total: 22 of these number among the 44 that appeared in When we were Very Young, first published by Methuen on 6 November 1924, including much-loved poems such as ‘Vespers’ and ‘Hoppity’. The introductory poem appears to be unpublished and is illustrated with an original photograph of Christopher Robin Milne wearing his now-famous floppy hat and short coat, which is not reproduced in the book. The poem, which opens ‘Good afternoon. I'm Billy Moon./ And who are you? Oh, how do you do!’ and closes ‘It’s quite/ All right,/ You may look/ At my book!, was replaced in the published edition with a longer prose preface, ‘Just before we begin’. The pagination and the order of the poems – often corrected in pencil here, with annotations apparently relating to the selection of poems for publication (‘No’, ‘Too old’, ‘rather old’, ‘used’) – does not correspond with the published edition; the poems were evidently rearranged and revised before they were published with the new preface. There are a number of textual variations from the first edition: the verbs in ‘The Wrong House’ are here entirely in the past tense (the published version employs the present tense); Bad Sir Brian Botany's boots are here described as ‘A comfy pair of which he was particularly fond’, later revised by Milne to ‘A fighting pair’; the stanzas of ‘Nursery Chairs’ were later rearranged; and a line was added to ‘The Three Foxes’.

As a young boy, Christopher Robin Milne was referred to by his family as ‘Billy Moon’, a combination of an early nickname, Billy, and his childhood mispronunciation of Milne. The prefatory poem that opens this early draft typescript for When we were Very Young beneath a pasted-in photograph of the young Christopher Robin was perhaps considered too personal for inclusion in the published edition. When we were Very Young was a huge success when it appeared in 1924 and was acclaimed in The Times as 'the greatest children's book since Alice'.

[with:] A.A. Milne. Autograph letter signed (‘A.A.M.’) to [Ernest Howard] Shepard, 13 Mallord Street, Chelsea, n.d. [1925 or earlier]. 2 pages, 151 x 113m. Asking Shepard to illustrate a new edition of Once on a Time and giving him an idea of what he had in mind for the book: ‘Did you ever read a book of mine called “Once on a Time”? No. However, I forgive you, as nobody else has. It was published – by Hodder & Stoughton – in 1917, and died at birth. But until W[hen] W[e] W[ere] V[ery] Y[oung] I always thought it my best book. And now, spurred on by our joint success, H&S want to bring out a new edition, illustrated by you. It is a long fairy story, and cries out for my one and only collaborator. Will you do it?’;

[and:] George Loraine Stampa (1875-1951). Illustrated autograph letter signed (‘G.L.S’) to Ernest [Howard Shepard], n.p., 6 November 1947. One page, 193 x 89mm, partial ink drawing on the recto. A light-hearted letter offering his forgiveness, noting that they missed seeing one another in the [?Punch] offices, and thanking him for forwarding the ‘misdirected backsheets’;

[and:] An ink illustration of two young children and a maid, titled ‘only the old drawing-room clock, Clara’, signed and dated ‘R.P. 16’.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
10.07.2024 – 10.07.2024
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

More from Creator

Ten plays, all signed
Ten plays, all signed
$100
On copyright and publishing frustrations
On copyright and publishing frustrations
$100
The Pooh Books
The Pooh Books
$2 000
The Hums of Pooh
The Hums of Pooh
$100
Pooh Goes Visiting
Pooh Goes Visiting
$100
Winnie-the-Pooh, limited signed edition
Winnie-the-Pooh, limited signed edition
$3 200
A.A. Milne (1882-1956)
A.A. Milne (1882-1956)
£100
A Gallery of Children
A Gallery of Children
$100

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.