Tintin Forums

When I was a child my sister and I wrote to Hergé and for 4 years he sent us a Christmas card with characters from the Tintin books on them. One has the characters as mosaic and another has pop ups. Does anyone know what they might be worth as I may need to insure them?

Prices can vary at auction but the BDM - a price guide for French language comics - offers a pretty accurate estimate for all of the cards from the very first to those still issued today by the Studios Hergé.

You will need to provide a clear description of each card and I'll enlighten you as to the current "cote" (as it is termed in French).

Thank you

First card shows front snow landscape with blue sky and yellow star. Opens to pop up in front of Marlinspike hall L-R The Thom(p)sons then Calculus, Madame Castafiore, Haddock, Tintin, Snowy falling.
AVEC LES MEILLEURS SOUHAITS DE Hergé

2nd

Cover JOYE
UXNO
ELBO
NNEA
NNEE

with pics showing thru letters

3rd
JOYEUX
BOEL!
NONNE
ANNEE
star (all in gold

Tintin characters carrying letters

4th
Large card

In mosaics

L-R Thom(p)sons, Nestor, Calculus, Haddock, Tintin holding dove, Snowy all dressed in Greek(?) robes

Thanks
Peter

All values are from the latest edition of the BDM (2009-2010).

Bear in mind that Hergé's cards, with a few exceptions, are not illustrated in the guide - I have checked the descriptions against another source where all of the cards are reproduced.

You have in fact presented your cards in reverse chronological order:

1. 1966 Tintin et ses amis sortent de Moulinsart pour se rendre à la messe de minuit 650 euros
2. 1965 Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année : découpés dans les aventures de Tintin 800 euros
3. 1964 Cortège de plus d'une centaine de personnages des aventures de Tintin: Joyeux Boël! Nonne Année! Tournesol tient un panneau marqué Joyeuses Pâques. 900 euros
4. 1963 Reproduction de la mosaïque dite La Colombe. Art Bizantin du sixième siècle. 800 euros
I am assuming that all are signed by Hergé and in good condition. If you have retained the original envelopes that may increase the value by a small amount.

Are there any further annotations on these cards? And what is the story behind them?

Hi

Thanks for your reply and help. Sorry it's taken so long to respond!
We wrote to Hergé when we were about 8 years old and he sent us the cards after that. There are no envelopes but they are signed and in good condition. I think the time has come to sell them but no idea how!

Any thoughts gratefully received.

Peter

By chance I decided to look at the full forum listing today (recently I have only been glancing from time to time, and never beyond the initial page showing the very latest messages)...
I had completely forgotten about this posting and it was therefore a real surprise to read your response.
Deciding upon the best means of selling will depend upon your location.
And you must bear in mind that any professional dealer will only give you around 50% of the market value for each item.
Your best options would therefore seem to be: (1) eBay - for instance selling each card at a "buy it now" price equivalent to the market rate, or all four cards together (but risks are always involved); (2) putting them in as lots in an auction in, say, Paris (at the auction house Artcurial, for example - but administrative matters could get quite complicated); or (3) a private sale - directly to a collector - this might be the best option (although the price will likely be negotiated down slightly).
If in Belgium or France you will be well placed to sell. If in the UK, US or Australia, things may be a little more tricky...