| Collecting Strand | EH Shepard |
| Level | Collection |
| Ref No | EGM |
| Title | HarperCollins Publishers Limited Collection |
| Date | 1928-2021 |
| Extent | 22 boxes, 15 vols |
| Name of Creator | Shepard; Ernest Howard (1879-1976); Illustrator |
| Burgess; Mark, (1957-); Illustrator |
| Methuen Children's Books Ltd |
| Egmont UK Ltd |
| HarperCollins Publishers Limited |
| Description | The HarperCollins Publishers Limited Collection (formerly the Egmont UK Ltd 'Winnie-the-Pooh' and 'The Wind in the Willows' Collection) originated as a working collection relating to the illustration of the 'Winnie-the-Pooh' books written by A.A. Milne and 'The Wind in the Willows' by Kenneth Grahame. The collection was primarily created out of the publication of colour illustrated editions of the 'Winnie-the-Pooh' books by Methuen Children's Books Ltd in the early 1970s and the late 1980s. It was subsequently used and further developed by Egmont Children's Books Ltd (later Egmont Books Ltd and then Egmont UK Ltd) in the 21st century, following the acquisition of the Methuen Children's Books imprint by the Egmont publishing group.
The collection chiefly consists of the colour illustrations created by the illustrators E.H. Shepard and Mark Burgess, comprising: hand-coloured illustrations by Shepard, based on copies of his original drawings; hand-coloured illustrations by Burgess, based on copies of Shepard’s original drawings; and original coloured illustrations by Burgess.
Works represented within the collection include:
- Kenneth Grahame, 'The Wind in the Willows' (1971), London: Methuen;
- A.A. Milne, 'Winnie-the-Pooh' (1973), London: Methuen;
- A.A. Milne, 'The House at Pooh Corner' (1974), London: Methuen;
- A.A. Milne, 'When We Were Very Young' (1989), London: Methuen;
- A.A. Milne, 'Now We Are Six' (1989), London: Methuen;
- David Benedictus, 'Return to the Hundred Acre Wood' (2009), London: Egmont.
Additionally included within the collection are:
- 6 original pen and ink illustrations by Shepard for the 1931 edition of 'The Wind in the Willows';
- a small quantity of Shepard's correspondence with Methuen Children's Books Ltd;
- a series of Methuen & Co. Ltd working files relating to Shephard's illustrations of the 'Winnie-the-Pooh' books;
- published works featuring illustrations by Shepard and Burgess, including recent publications by HarperCollins Publishers Limited published under the Farshore imprint.
Note: This collection and its catalogue contains terminology or content which could be considered offensive. The language used in the catalogue records reflect that of the original items and has been retained to record the language used at the time the item was created. It in no way reflects the attitudes of the cataloguer or the University of Surrey. |
| Arrangement | Illustrations within this collection are arranged by the work that they were produced for, with additional series for correspondence and published works. The working files of Methuen & Co Ltd are retained as a separate series, reflecting the separate provenance of this material from the rest of the collection. |
| Administrative History | The 'Winnie-the-Pooh' books written by A.A. Milne were first published in the United Kingdom by Methuen & Co. Ltd between 1924 and 1928. These original editions featured black-and-white line illustrations drawn by the illustrator E.H. Shepard. Methuen & Co. Ltd were also the original publishers of 'The Wind in the Willows' by Kenneth Grahame (first published 1908).
In 1931 the company produced a new illustrated edition featuring black-and-white line illustrations by Shepard.
In the 1970s the publishers, now trading under the name Methuen Children's Books Ltd, commissioned new colour illustrated editions of 'The Wind in the Willows', 'Winnie-the-Pooh' and 'The House at Pooh Corner'. For these editions, Shepard worked on copies of his original illustrations, hand-colouring them himself.
Methuen published further colour illustrated editions of 'When We Were Very Young' and 'Now We Are Six' in 1989. As Shepard had died in 1976, the work of colouring the illustrations was undertaken by the illustrator Mark Burgess.
Methuen Children's Books was acquired by the Egmont publishing group in the late 1990s. Egmont Children's Books Limited (which later operated under the names Egmont Books Limited and Egmont UK Ltd) published new editions of the 'Winnie-the-Pooh' books with the coloured illustrations by Shepard and Burgess. Egmont additionally commissioned new illustrations by Burgess in the style of Shepard, most notably for 'Return to the Hundred Acre Wood' by David Benedictus.
In 2020 Egmont Books was acquired from Egmont UK Ltd by HarperCollins Publishers Limited, which publishes works in the 'Winnie-the-Pooh' book series under the Farshore imprint. |
| Language | English |
| Related Material | Two related collections are held by Archives and Special Collections, University of Surrey:
The E.H. Shepard Archive, [collection reference: EHS];
The Shepard Trust collection, which includes E.H. Shepard's artwork from the First World War [collection reference: ST].
The corporate archive of HarperCollins Publishers Limited within the United Kingdom is held by the company at its Glasgow offices.
Some of the illustrations produced for the works featured in this collection are known to be in private ownership. |
| Custodial History | The collection was generated by Methuen Children's Books Ltd, and later by Egmont UK Ltd, during the course of their publishing activities. In 2017 Egmont UK Ltd transferred the collection to University of Surrey Archives and Special Collections on long-term loan. In 2020 ownership of the collection passed to HarperCollins Publishers Limited following their acquisition of Egmont Books, and in 2024 the collection was renamed the HarperCollins Publishers Limited Collection in recognition of the change in ownership.
In July-September 2023 HarperCollins funded a project of remounting, digital imaging, and minor conservation work on several series of illustrations within this collection. |