LONDON: A hand-written, original map of Winnie the Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood was today auctioned for a whopping USD 570,000, smashing all previous world records for a book illustration.
Carved by E H Shepherd, the drawing of the map which appears inside the cover of A A Milne's beloved book 'Winnie-the-Pooh', was sold by the renowned auction house Sotheby's.
"The original drawing of Winnie-the-Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood sells for 430,000 pounds (USD 570,027) to set a new record for any book illustration sold at auction," Sotheby's tweeted.
The auction house described the 1926 drawing, which was unseen for 50 years, as "possibly the most famous map in children's literature."
The previously record was held by E H Shepard illustration of the game Poohsticks, which featured in A A Milne's book 'The House At Pooh Corner'.
"I suspect that there isn't a single child who wouldn't instantly recognise this wonderful depiction of The Hundred Acre Wood," said Philip W Errington, director of the Department of Printed Books and Manuscripts at Sotheby's.
"This is the first drawing you encounter in the book and is the visual guide to the entire world of Winnie the Pooh," he was quoted as saying by 'The Independent'.
The map which sets out the world of Winnie the Pooh and captures the unique personalities of A A Milne's much-loved characters recently appeared for the first time in Sotheby's English Literature, History, Science, Children's books and Illustrations sale.
The Hundred Acre Wood, inspired by the Ashdown Forest, 40 miles south of London, was sold with original sketches of Pooh made by Shepard as a part of the Sotheby's sale, according to the auction house.
In total, the map and other illustrations sold for a combined USD 1.2 million.
Featured on the opening end-papers of the original 1926 book, the sketch introduces readers to the imagination of Christopher Robin and his woodland friends.