Tintin Forums

Hello,
I was cleaning out a family member's shed, and discovered a 1952 Casterman edition of The Secret of the Unicorn, in pretty good condition.

I know this is a rare book, as it is the first English translated Tintin. Could anybody point me in the right direction about getting it valued?
Any more information about it would be appreciated.
Regards

Hi there,
What a find!
Do you have any photographs of the condition?
For your information, it is generally accepted that 2000 copies were printed.
The value could vary from relatively next-to-nothing (less than £100) for a copy in bad shape, to over £1000 for a really fine copy.
Are you interested in selling?
Best

Hmmm... reading back through some old posts, looking for something else, I chanced upon this, which had escaped my notice a few months back.

I have to ask - generally accepted by whom? Round here we have generally had to accept that we don't know what the print run was, nor how many of that sold or otherwise distributed (Herg´ seems to have given a few as presents, for example).

I'm not saying that the figure is wrong, I'd just be interested to know where it came from, and how it was arrived at?

Well, 7-plus years later I thought that I'd reply.
Yes, I still have it, and yes, it is in pretty good condition for a 66 year old book.
I am just trying to work out how to sell it. Especially in Australia.

I'll get some photos on here.
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4
Photo 5

[Moderator Note - links to photos sent to Facebook page added]

Abebooks would be your best bet. But, I would be interested in the book, if we can private message.

I always hate to set values on such things, but you could get four figures (Aus $) for it, so keep that in mind when choosing how to sell it - getting it in front of the people who want to buy it is key!

I think you have to be a bookshop or dealer to sell through ABEBooks, don't you? Could be wrong.

You could choose to hold an auction on eBay or through Catawiki - the later has regular Tintin and Hergé sales, which it promotes, which could help, where eBay seems to be a little more passive.

I don't think your being in Australia is a problem, to be honest, as there will be people all over the globe looking to buy this, and the postage, insurance etc. would be paid by them.

The cover is a little bit damaged, which might detract, but the inside looks clean and unfaded, and the pages are remarkably unbrowned, which is a real plus.

Good luck, whatever you choose to do with it!