Tintin Forums

As I spend vast amounts of time at my desk, either working or seeking out new Tintin items to spend my money on, I'd really like to find a photograph of Hergé working at his desk, to put on the wall near my own desk.

I'm not after an original, and I'd even be perfectly happy with a copy of a black and white print - but does anyone have any ideas where I could find one...?

After reading your query, I've just tried typing Hergé into Google Image Search and, among the various photos of Hergé on various different websites that it brought up, quite a lot were of Hergé sitting at his desk (and at his drawing board) at various stages of his career.

Assuming your computer has a printer, you could simply download one you like and print it off. (Given that it's purely for your personal non-commercial use, I don't think the website owners in question or the copyright holders of the photos would object.)

Balthazar

Thanks for your reply. Being a long-time Googler, I should have thought of that myself! I'm amazed, though, that there aren't any being sold by online sellers of Tintin merchandise, or by Moulinsart. Is there a gap in the market, I wonder?

Yes, there probably is a gap in the market. (You should write to Nick Rodwell!)

I love seeing old photos of artists' and writers' studies, offices and studios. It's interesting seeing what books, furniture, ornaments and curios they had, and what pens and brushes they used etc. And office equipment and clutter from previous eras has a kind of charm to it anyway, doesn't it?

I don't know how many photos exist of Hergé and his team at work. I've seen one or two in the few Hergé biographies that have been published in English, but those don't total many.

Maybe there are more such photos, and if so, maybe some Belgian or French publisher has compiled them in a book. I don't know, but I expect someone on this forum will!

Hmm, I wonder if Nick Rodwell would pay me commission for each photograph sold... ;)

Like you, Balthazar, I also love seeing photographs of studies and offices, but especially desks, as your immediate environment is so personal. As I type this, I'm surrounded by clutter that includes photographs of my friends from university, flyers for various social events and sundry other nick-nacks from my travels.

Back at my parents' house, I have a book on Hergé and Tintin whose titles now escapes me, but I seem to remember that they mocked up some photographs of Hergé's desk, albeit mainly as a narrative device rather than an actual depiction of what it looked like.
From memory, I recall a bakelite Studios Hergé plaque, a suitably retro Anglepoise lamp, an overflowing ashtray and, of course, some rough sketches.