1936 EH Shepard Signed Original Drawing for Punch Magazine

Ernest Howard "EH" Shepard (1879-1976) was a popular cartoonist, perhaps most famous for his illustrations of Winnie the Pooh in the famous books by A.A. Milne. He is also known for bringing to life the characters in Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows.

Shepard famously regretted illustrating Winnie the Pooh as he felt it overshadowed his work as a political cartoonist.

EH Shepard worked as a cartoonist for Punch magazine from 1921 until 1953 and his work is often thought of as somewhat gentle and uplifting.

Fellow cartoonist John Jenson once said "Shepard moved from strength to strength, increasingly able to impose his quiet humour on otherwise grim and humourless topics."

This original, signed drawing measures 8.25" x 7.75" and is mounted to an overall size of 15" x 15".

The ink drawing, which is extremely detailed, shows Mr Punch standing is his living room which is adorned with Christmas holly. Mr Punch is holding a copy of a newspaper whose headline reads "COAL DISPUTE" and looking at Toby the dog who is holding an empty scuttle and pointing to the small amount of coal on the fire.

The drawing is a reference to the dispute which resulted from the Coal Mines Reorganisation Commission's proposal to regulate the production and supply of coal and merge small mines.

Headed "VOLUME CXC", it is thought that this particular drawing was used as the front cover of the volume of Punch magazine January to June 1936. This rare drawing comes from the Shepard family's own holding.

EH Shepard has autographed the original drawing in the bottom left hand corner.

This is a delightfully detailed piece of cartoon art from one of the world's best loved illustrators.