维尼熊插画和《哈利·波特》赠阅本将拍卖

Pooh Illustrations to Be Auctioned

维尼熊插画和《哈利·波特》赠阅本将拍卖

How many honey pots could a silly old bear fill if he had 100,000 British pounds, or roughly $159,000? That’s the low estimate for an original illustration from A. A. Milne’s 1928 book “The House at Pooh Corner” to be sold at Sotheby’s London next month. The drawing, signed by the artist E. H. Shepard, depicts Winnie-the-Pooh playing a game of “Poohsticks” on a bridge with Christopher Robin and Piglet. It has been part of a private collection since 1975, according to the Sotheby’s London sale catalog. The illustration is expected to fetch £100,000 to £150,000, or about $159,000 to $238,000, and is one of several drawings by Shepard that the auction house will feature at its “English Literature, History, Children’s Books and Illustration” sale on Dec. 9. Other items include drawings by Beatrix Potter and Edmund Dulac, a copy of “Peter Pan” signed by J. M. Barrie, and presentation copies of uncorrected “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” proofs signed by J. K. Rowling. Pooh has proved to be a lucrative draw at previous auctions. In November 2008, an original Shepard sketch of Pooh and friends sold for about $50,100 at a Bonham’s auction. A month later, the Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone collection of Shepard’s original drawings for the Winnie-the-Pooh books brought in about $1.97 million at a Sotheby’s London auction.

如果一只笨笨的老熊有了十万英镑(约合15.9万美元)，这能装满多少个蜜罐?这笔钱是A·A·米尔恩(A. A. Milne)1928年《小熊维尼的房子》(The House at Pooh Corner)中原始插画的最低估价。下个月，这幅插画将在伦敦的苏富比拍卖行拍卖。画上有艺术家E·H·谢泼德(E. H. Shepard)的签名，描绘的是小熊维尼、克里斯托弗·罗宾(Christopher Robin)和小猪皮杰(Piglet)在一座桥上玩“丢棍子”(Poohsticks)游戏。根据这次苏富比伦敦拍卖会的目录，这幅画从1975年起成为私人藏品，预计能卖到十万至15万英镑(约合15.9万美元至23.8万美元)。这次“英国文学、历史、童书和插画拍卖会”将于12月9日举行，谢泼德的另外几幅素描也将参加。其他拍卖作品包括贝娅特丽克丝·波特(Beatrix Potter)和埃德蒙·迪拉克(Edmund Dulac)的素描，一本有J·M·巴里(J. M. Barrie)签名的《彼得·潘》(Peter Pan)，有J·K·罗琳(J. K. Rowling)签名的《哈利波特与密室》(Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)未修正校稿赠阅本。在之前的几次拍卖会上，小熊维尼已被证明是利润丰厚的拍卖品。2008年11月，谢泼德绘制的维尼熊和朋友们的素描原作在博纳姆拍卖公司(Bonham)的一次拍卖会上卖出了5.01万美元。一个月后，斯坦利·J·西格(Stanley J. Seeger)和克里斯托弗·科恩(Christopher Cone)收藏的谢泼德的《小熊维尼》系列图书原始插画在苏富比的一次伦敦拍卖会上卖出了约197万美元。