Tintin: Official postal address?

Hi friends,
I wanted to know the official address of Tintin. I know they live in Marlinspike Hall which they bought in Red Rackham's Treasure.
But still I want to know the complete address of Tintin

Probably along the lines of:

Marlinspike Hall,
Marlinspike,
Marlinshire,
Belgium

(it presumably isn't too far from Brussels, seeing as Tintin and the Captain go to the cinema there in 'Red Sea Sharks').

- Anyone else think it's strange that Snowy says something along the lines of "I'd prefer Marlinspike" when they're on the cruise in Cigars of the Pharaoh?

The thought of Marlinshire being in Belgium spins my brain cells somewhat, and shows up the interesting reality games caused by a Belgian comic strip being Anglicised. It also touches on the basis of many of the posts to this forum about the world that the 'real' Tintin inhabits.

When I read the Tintin adventures I like to base Tintin in Belgium, as it makes more sense to me overall, knowing the strip's creative origin. When I was a wee little kid, I believed them to be British adventures. I do have a bit of a reality jolt when I read Marlinshire, or any of the other Anglicisms brilliantly moulded by MT and LLC (UK translators).

But overall, I must say it all works pretty well, and Tintin is such an international character, that, in some respects, none of it matters anyway.

... and don't forget Tintin's old Labrador Road address. No. 29 was it?

Karaboudjan
Anyone else think it's strange that Snowy says something along the lines of "I'd prefer Marlinspike" when they're on the cruise in Cigars of the Pharaoh?

A bit off-topic, but there are quite a few discussions on the site of the anomolies in history resulting from some of the books being re-drawn and British books being translated in a non-chronological order, which results in people popping-up out-of-sequence, or talking about things which “haven’t happened yet”; this is just one of them, so I don’t find it odd, really.

As for Marlinshire being in Belgium, well I lean towards it being in “Britain” - when I think of the stories as being in Belgium, I don’t think of “Marlinshire”…

tybaltstone

old Labrador Road address. No. 29

Wasn't it rather No. 26 ? This shouldn't trouble the postman's rounds too much anyway...

It's funny - I always assumed Tintin was British when I was young, too, even though I knew it was originally written in French (didn't make the Belgian connection until even later!) And I think it was the things like Marlinspike Hall, which seemed like such a typical English stately home to me, complete with Nestor, surely the most English-like of all the Tintin characters!

I think there may be some truth in Tintin being, if not an international character, certainly a European character that any kid in Europe could imagine being just like them. He's always referred to as 'the European reporter Tintin', isn't he, not the Belgian reporter.

I've ALWAYS wanted to know about why bits of Tintin history don't 'make sense' (like how he is recognised as the Moon explorer before he's even met Haddock!) so I shall dig the site for people's take on that!

yamilah
Wasn't it rather No. 26?

Perhaps one of the screws came loose on the numeral “6”, and it turned upside down, looking like a “9”? ;-)

I’m sure there is a germ of an idea for an adventure there: a mysterious package (containing a silk top-hat, a key, a statue of Pegasus and a Bordurian tram-ticket, perhaps?) arrives at Tintin’s door, when the delivery man mistakes Nº26 for Nº29, or maybe rogues go to the wrong house and kidnap Tintin’s neighbour instead of Tintin (Tintin and Snowy return just in time to be implicated in the crime by Thompson and Thomson…). Sorry - I’m rambling…

I actually always think of Labrador Road as Tintin’s address; even when shown at Marlinspike, I always assume he’s just visiting the Captain and the Professor, and will return to his flat later…

He must have moved in by at least Tintin in Tibet, since his mail is sent c/o the Captain...

Karaboudjan He must have moved in by at least Tintin in Tibet, since his mail is sent c/o the Captain...

...and Chang's letter had been redirected from his old address at Labrador Road. Presumably Tintin's old landlady Mrs Finch found herself a new and less stressful lodger. I don't expect she was sorry to see him go - he was always blowing the place up, breaking the windows or having strange and threatening visitors...

Incidentally, the letter which Tintin finds addressed to the Bird brothers in The Secret of the Unicorn reads:

Messrs. M. & G. Bird,
Antique Dealers,
Marlinspike Hall,
Marlinshire,
ENGLAND.

I don't believe the original French edition states the country name (Belgium?) so perhaps Hergé was purposely leaving some ambiguity there.

I don't believe the original French edition states the country name (Belgium) so perhaps Hergé was purposely leaving some ambiguity there.

The French version reads simply:

M.M. M. et G. Loiseau,
Antiquaires,
Chateau de Moulinsart.

So conversely, it was the English translators who purposely added the British element!

Ed