95 years ago today, Winnie-the-Pooh came “bump, bump, bump” down the stairs to begin his adventures with Christopher Robin and other friends in the 100 Aker Wood.
Illustrations of ‘Edward Bear’, a prior manifestation of the bear who became Winnie-the-Pooh, first appear in the 1924 book of poems by A.A. Milne When We Were Very Young, but he was not named Winnie-the-Pooh until the stories which were dedicated to him were published in 1926.
Through these stories, Pooh Bear has many escapades and encounters such as … climbing trees and floating off on a balloon to follow bees in search of his favourite food ‘Hunny’; getting stuck in a rabbit hole; tracking Woozles in the snow with Piglet; plotting to catch a Heffalump; going on an ‘expotition’ to the North Pole; and, of course, playing Poohsticks.
Ref No. EGM/1/4. Line llustrations © E.H. Shepard, 1926. Colouring of the line illustrations © E.H. Shepard and Egmont Books UK Ltd, 1970 and 1973. 
Ref No. EGM/1/65. Line illustrations © E.H. Shepard, 1926. Colouring of the line illustrations © E.H. Shepard and Egmont Books UK Ltd, 1970 and 1973.
This beloved ‘silly old bear’ Winnie-the-Pooh, his friends, his sayings and hums, and stories have been cherished by generations of readers and he lives on in the hearts and minds of both young and old. Even though E.H. Shepard died in 1976, there have been more recent stories and publications carefully illustrated in a similar style to the ‘decorations’ of the original stories. To celebrate the 95th anniversary, Farshore Books have published a prequel of stories entitled Winnie-the-Pooh: Once There Was a Bear, written by Jane Riordan in the style of A.A. Milne and illustrated by Mark Burgess. The book is a tribute to The Best Bear in All the World and a perfect opportunity to revisit these favourite characters.
Find out more about the collections related to E.H. Shepard held within Archives and Special Collections at the University of Surrey here https://www.surrey.ac.uk/library/archives-and-special-collections/our-collections
