Personal letters revealing the private life of a literary icon have fetched thousands at auction.
Nine letters written by A.A. Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh, sold for a combined total of £2,900 at a recent sale, more than doubling their original estimate.
The letters went under the hammer at the auction house of TV antiques expert Irita Marriott and had been passed down through the family of Milne’s close friends, Vincent and Barbara Seligman.
The address on a letter is shown as Cotchford Farm, the country house in the Ashdown Forest where the author lived and was inspired to write Winnie the Pooh.
One particularly tender note included the line, "Thank you Darling for putting up with me. You are a blessed pair, and I am most grateful to you," and was signed with Milne’s nickname, "Blue."
Other letters mention attending a match at Lords, asking to stay with the couple en route to Cambridge, and gratitude to Barbara for returning items he had left behind.
Irita Marriott, owner of the auction house, said: "These incredible letters came to us directly from Vincent's family, and had never been on the market before, so we were delighted to have the opportunity to sell these for the family.
Read more:
-
Fundraising art auction raises over £250k for torture survivors
-
Rudyard Kipling’s haunting WWI letters to be auctioned after 70 years
-
Animals enjoy sweet treats as zoo celebrates Winnie the Pooh Day
"They give a real insight into A.A. Milne's life and a sense of what he was really like as a person with the people who knew him best."
Also included in the sale was a letter from Milne’s son, Christopher Robin, the inspiration for the beloved character.
That letter, which sold for £1,000, thanked Vincent for sending him stamps and mentioned his "dear little pony called Cracker."
Other highlights from the auction included a first edition of The Christopher Robin Verses from 1923, which sold for £1,600, and a copy of Winnie the Pooh, which fetched £1,000.
Both books featured personalised inscriptions from Milne.
Vincent Seligman was part of the Seligman and Brothers banking family, and his mother, Sybil Seligman, was rumoured to have had a long-term affair with composer Puccini.
Following her death, Vincent published a book of their correspondence titled Puccini Among Friends.
Share