The iconic bridge that became famous as “Poohsticks Bridge” of A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books was sold in an auction for over six million pesos.

‘Poohsticks Bridge’ was auctioned in Summers Place Auctions, the world’s leading auctioneers of Garden Statuary and Natural History, with a starting price of two million pesos and was sealed to a bidder from Sussex, England, on Wednesday, October 6, 2021.

https://app.summersplaceauctions.com/en/auction/sb061021-home-garden-and-natural-history-sealed-bids/131-the-historically-important-pooh-sticks-bridge-from-ashdown-forest-a-carved-oak-bridge-circa-1907-with-restorations-and-reconstruction

In a press release posted on the website of Summers Place Auction, the bridge carried an estimate of PHP 2 million – PHP 4 million and achieved over PHP 6 million, including buyer’s premium and value-added tax (VAT).

Summers Place Auctions identified the new owner on Thursday, October 7, which is Lord De La Warr, who owns Buckhurst Park estate in Withyham, East Sussex.

“I am delighted to have been able to purchase the original bridge. It will take pride of place on the estate to close to its original position, and I hope many children will be able to admire the original bridge,” De La Warr shared.

James Rylands, a specialist in charge of the auction, also shared how they are proud to sell a piece of history.

“We were absolutely delighted that we could sell a piece of literary history which has given a pleasure over the generations to millions of children around the world. We were thrilled by the interest the bridge received globally, but are pleased that the bridge will stay in this country,” Rylands said.

Summers Place Auctions said the bridge, originally known as Posingford Bridge, when it was built in Suffolk’s Ashdown Forest in 1907, became an iconic setting when Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh used it to invent the game “Poohsticks” in Milne’s 1928 book The House at Pooh Corner.

The original bridge has now been “fully restored and reconstructed using local oak for any missing elements,” Summers Place Auctions said in the press release.

The leading auctioneers will be having their next auctions on November 23, 2021. Updates will be posted on their official website.

Source: https://www.summersplaceauctions.com/