One of the most famous images of Winnie the Pooh - as the bear plays Poohsticks with Piglet and Christopher Robin - is expected to fetch more than £100,000 at auction.

The illustration - first published in 1928 - by EH Shepard has been in a private collection for more than 40 years but will now be sold by Sotheby's next month.

Shepard's ink drawing featured in the AA Milne book The House At Pooh Corner.

The drawing is for chapter six "in which Pooh invents a new game and Eeyore joins in".

It accompanies the closing scene of the chapter where the three characters stand on the Poohsticks bridge as the mood changes from the high excitement of their new game to a more wistful atmosphere.

Milne wrote: "For a long time they looked at the river beneath them, saying nothing, and the river said nothing too, for it felt very quiet and peaceful on this summer afternoon."

The drawing will feature in Sotheby's sales of English literature, history, children's books and illustrations on December 9.

It is estimated to sell for between £100,000 and £150,000.