Tintin Forums

I have a very early copy of Tintin en Amerique, published by Casterman in Paris, Tournai and printed in Belgium. It says Vingtieme Mille.
I have been all over it and there is no indication of any date. I tried several places to find assistance but to no avail. I would love to be able to put a date on it not that I want to sell it but just be able to identify.

This book is in hard cover with red spine, black and white strips with the odd full size plate in color. The front is Tintin riding a horse with open lasso and Snowy hanging on like grim death at the saddle.

At one stage someone mentioned something about the boots Tintin was wearing might be a clue!!!
It must be quite early as the back only has six other Tintin books, and three Quick & Flupke.
I would love to know.

Moved from another thread:


Hi Robbo, thank you for the advice. However I am not sure what you are referring to.

Any suggestions?

Well not sure if I can post a link but here goes: http://www.free-tintin.net/catalogue.htm

Otherwise just google cotes BDM.

mat

Robbo/Mat thank you this is a brilliant site.I have been looking for this for quite a while and all is now revealed that I have a 1939 copy of Tintin en Amerique...WOW what a find, just brilliant....

And you're absolutely sure it's not a facsimile? (refer to front and/or back inner covers)

If it's original then you have something truly worth keeping and treasuring, and I would be really pleased to have helped!

mat

Oh Boy what are you doing to me?
Could you please explain this, the front and rear inner covers have no ID markings. They are blue with images of some other volumes that are listed on the back cover. When I identified my copy, the outer rear cover is identical to the image on the web site.

Hi Glendale,

Sorry but you want to be sure no?

Basically if the book is that old it will look that old, but the facsimiles first appeared I believe in the early 1980's: if it is a facsimile there should be a date of print on one of the white front inner pages, and it should say facsimile somewhere on one of the back pages - just check every page and all the small print. If you can't find this it could well be an original copy. I'm only advising precaution because a 1939 copy would be very rare indeed, provenance would help: how and where did you acquire this book?

mat

Hi Mat,
Now I am really getting exited as it seems that all the boxes are ticked.
Yes it does look old and not 1980's either. The inside pages are a dark blue and in general the whole book is in good condition and no sign of any dates or other printing.The provenance is a Little strange as I was given this copy by a cousin who lives in Belgium and he found it in the Attic of a deceased estate that he was clearing out. As we grew up together Tintin was always part of our life I even have a photo of us both dressed as Dupond and Dupont so he knew of my addiction thus gave me the book when I visited last year.
I am happy to send you a couple of photo's of the book. not sure how.

Hi Glendale,

Well it was certainly worth checking it wasn't a facsimile. It does sound to me like it's a genuine original. The provenance is very interesting and adds weight to the likelihood it is a 1939 copy.

I would be interested to see photos, maybe I can PM you my email.

Update:I can't seem to find a way to do this unfortunately.

mat

Hi Mat,
Thank you for assisting me and resolving this puzzle.All indications are there indeed and most exciting to say the least and just in case anyone wants to know,the book is not for sale.
If you are interested in photo's send me a contact via <glendale.1@hotmail.com>
I hope this little exercise has also assisted someone else in a similar situation thanks to this great site and contributors like yourself.