Tintin Forums

Original Thread Title: Original cover drawing for "Le crabe aux pinces d'or"

The forthcoming bandes dessinées auction at Artcurial in Paris - 3 parts, 13-14 March 2009 - does not include many Hergé originals.

Nonetheless, one of the lots is outstanding : the original pen and ink drawing for the cover of "Le crabe aux pinces d'or" (Lot 647, estimate: 350,000-400,000 euros).

Any takers ?

Click here to see the Illustrated catalogue.

Fascinating catalogue. I found the most interesting Tintin lot to be 649.

Yes, lot 649 is very interesting. Can anyone translate the description for me?

The sale is taking place right now.

According to this article by Olivier Delcroix (author of the charming little book "Generations Herge") there is likely to be a "battle" for the Crabe cover.

It seems that it might hold more appeal for collectors than the original Amerique cover.

http://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/2009/03/14/03004-20090314ARTFIG00266-40 00008364-pour-la-couverture-du-crabe-aux-pinces-d-or-.php

Will a new record be set ?

Will bids reach 1 million euros ?

The answer will soon be revealed . . .

The answer is no - the original record still stands.

http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2009/03/14/01011-20090314FILWWW00604 -tintin-la-couverture-vendue-372000.php

Here's a short article (in French) about the other recent BD sale :

http://www.levif.be/belga/generale/78-6-92526/bd--plus-d--039-un-milli on-d--039-euros-de-lots-vendus-aux-encheres.html

The "Sceptre" inked sheet was withdrawn from sale when bids only reached 115,000 euros (against an estimate of 130,000-140,000 euros).

Lot 145 (page 117).

For access to the catalogue, see :

http://www.world-encheres.com/millon/vo21032009/asp/index.asp

You will need to click on the (only partially visible) small Adobe icon.

Wow. Looking at these makes me wish that I could draw!

An initial report concerning the latest Hergé auction.

Two outstanding results:

1. the crayonne and inked sheet of p. 3 from Bijoux sold for 250,000 euros [312,500 euros including commission]
2. the crayonne and inked sheet of p. 38 from Affaire Tournesol sold for 220,000 euros [275,000 euros including commssion]

The catalogue - well worth looking at - can still be accessed here.

EDIT: A slightly longer article with video may be found here here.

EDIT 2: A summary in English.

Many thanks as always for the updates, luinivierge2010!

As you have been kind enough to continue supplying such a goldmine of sale-room related info, I have taken the step of changing the thread title to reflect this!
As a general not to all, it would be good if we could keep this to cover the real-world auction sales of works by Hergé in art houses, rather than for listing ebay and the like, please!

A report of Sunday’s sale in Namur from The Age:

“Tintin mania swept a Belgian auction house on Sunday with almost 600 lots associated with Herge, creator of the famous cartoon reporter, breaking national and world sales records…”

Read the full report here.

Modertor Note: Thanks for this, Rajpal! Were you the mystery buyer? ;-)
In order that we don’t get accused of piracy, it is sufficient to supply a link to, and perhaps a brief extract from, any news report or third-party source, rather than copying and pasting all the text. Web-sites owe their existence to people visiting, so it is only fair that we all help each other. Your post has been edited accordingly.