A copy of Tintin in Americawith a long and very personal dedication from caricaturist Hergéwas sold in Paris at auction for 191 thousand 145 euros (206 thousand dollars) including commissions and expenses, reported the house of Tajan auctions.
This 1932 album, published by the Petit Vingtième editionsis apparently the only one known from its circulation with the mention “10e mille” (10 thousand copies).
December 5, 1933 Hergé He wrote in it a very personal dedication to one of his friends and mentors, Charles Health, scout chaplain Saint Boniface Institute in Brussels, where Hergé spent five years of his schooling.
“To Mr. Abbot Helsen, in memory of the good years spent under his direction, to the discovery of Adventure, in the forest of Soignes… the Alps and the Pyrenees… Tintin “It is nothing more than another self, who would have continued on that path, until the end…” wrote the author.
This rarity belonged to Felipe Ortiz Patinoa discreet collector descended from a dynasty founded by his Bolivian great-grandfather Simón Iturri Patiño, the “king of tin” who made his fortune in 1900 by discovering an immense deposit of tin.
Ortiz Patiño got rid of this collection, which he started about thirty years ago, to dedicate himself to other interests such as cars.
Of the 75 lots, 48 were awarded, for a total of more than 934 thousand euros (1 million dollars), Tajan said in a statement.
A copy in perfect condition of the original edition of “Tintin in the Congo” from 1931, of the few kilometers printed at that time, sold for 101,944 euros (110,000 dollars). It is signed by Hergé as “Tintin” and by his fiancee, Germaine, as “Dear”.
One of the 500 albums in the “deluxe run” (for buyers who had pre-ordered) by “Tintin in the Land of the Soviets” from 1930, it sold for 63,715 euros (69,000 dollars).
Thanks to its exceptional state of conservation for original editions, “The Crab with the Golden Claws” (1942) and “The Broken Ear” (1937) were awarded respectively for 45,874 euros (49,000 dollars) and 44,600 euros (48,000 dollars).
Tintin is the comic book character that breaks the most records in auctions, thanks to its global notoriety.
The current record is the drawing of a cover project for “The Blue Lotus” from 1936, never used, which was sold in 2021 for 3,175 million euros (3.4 million dollars).
Tajan will auction on November 6 an original plate of “The Mysterious Star” in black and white, dating from 1941.
It is estimated that it will sell between 400 thousand (431 thousand dollars) and 500 thousand euros (540 thousand dollars).