Rare handwritten artifacts, some of which have not been seen for almost 100 years, have been found in the attic of an old house, sold at an auction by Fieldings Auctioneers.
Among the lots were the first manuscripts of Winnie-the-Pooh creator Alan Milne, a business card for "The Lord of the Rings" by John Tolkien. Also at auction were previously unknown private letters related to some of the world's most famous children's publications.
The total amount that the seller, 57-year-old Simon Smith, who decided to clean out his father's house after his death and found very unusual things there, exceeded the £50,000 mark.
The most expensive lot was a series of proof pages for "The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" with pasted-in layouts and illustrations with many corrections made by A. A. Milne.
It is noted that Simon Smith's father worked in the publishing industry all his life and kept archives from different times.
"We just didn't know they existed, so we were very stunned. We were cleaning out the attic and found a plastic bag full of letters and similar material. They were just lying there with documents and old photographs," said Mr. Smith.
Source:
express.co.uk
fieldingsauctioneers.co.uk
