The map, of the Hundred Acre Wood, was done in 1926 by artist E.H. Shepard as part of publication of the original installment of the famous A.A. Milne series. The map had not been seen in public for 50 years. Shepard had sold it in the year he drew it, and it had remained in a private collection.

The map was on the inside cover of the very first book to feature the famous bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, published in October 1926. Familiar characters in that first book included Piglet, Eeyore the donkey, Owl, Rabbit, and kangaroos Kanga and Roo. Another famous Pooh associate, Tigger, appeared in the sequel, The House at Pooh Corner, published in 1928.

Milne often said that his inspiration for the Hundred Acre Wood was England's Ashdown Forest, near where Milne lived. To this day, a wooden bridge in the forest is called Poohsticks Bridge, a reference to a game that Pooh invents in The House at Pooh Corner. Milne and his son Christopher Robin played the game on the bridge, near where they lived.

Auction house Sotheby's administered the sale in London and had valued the map at between $130,000 and $200,000. The buyer had other ideas, however, in the process setting a record for a book illustration. Sotheby's also sold the previous record-holding book illustration, an original illustration for Poohsticks, sold in 2014 for £314,500. (The Hundred Acre Wood map sold for £430,000.)

Four other Pooh-related sketches by Shepard also sold at the same auction, none for so high a price as the original map but all for more than had been anticipated.