Tintin Forums

Tintinologist.org Forums / Tintin collectibles (official merchandise only) /

Catawiki: Hergé/ Tintin auction, May 2023

george
Member
#1 · Posted: 18 May 2023 13:25
I see there are other Catawiki links on here so this is a genuine website, though I think I might've tuned it out previously. As per the subject line, they've a Hergé/ Tintin auction running until tomorrow.

I'm not across the values of these things to judge if there are bargains to be had, although there's a new (albeit limited edition - sort of, 777 seems a lot to be limited. Was there a non-limited edition?) copy of the coloured Les cigares du pharaon which seems a bit steep. The 1938 is more my style, other than the price.

The pop-up Le trésor de Rackham le rouge is nice though.

george
jock123
Moderator
#2 · Posted: 19 May 2023 08:50
george:
777 seems a lot to be limited. Was there a non-limited edition?

Yes, and yes, as far as I know.
I agree that "limited" is doing a bit of heavy lifting here, but on the other hand it's not uncommon with supposedly "limited" comics, toys and collectibles, for there to be editions of thousands, or even worse, unspecified amounts, so it's sort of lost its marque of exclusivity these days.
That aside, the 777 figure seems to have a bit of an association with Tintin items, thanks to the "for readers of 7-77" tag that was used to advertise the Tintin magazine back in the day.
The large retrospective history book about the magazine also had a "777" limited edition, in a red cloth cover, and that seemed to sell well, so I suppose that this continues that in a sort of fashion.

There was a "deluxe" edition of the colour Land of the Soviets when that came out, which ran to 50,000 copies, and included a "making of" section, a different cover showing an alternate image, similar to the black & white edition, that Hergé made, and a distinctive ridged silver spine; the book wasn't numbered, but it came with a separate art print of the "missing page" (recoloured) and that was numbered. There was an additional art print, showing Tintin in the speeding car just after he gained his quiff, plus a paper carrier bag, which was distributed to early buyers, or people who attended a book fair or book launch, I can't recall.

Anyway, it is/ was a very nice thing, added value to the item in a really tangible way through the extra content, and there was a number too, albeit of a very large set of numbers, if that's what floats one's boat. I'd certainly rather have that than just a number... :-)
It was a pity that that wasn't continued for the other colourizations.
george
Member
#3 · Posted: 19 May 2023 16:37
That's sent me down the Limited Edition rabbit hole...

Interesting to note that there are quite a few european publishers that have dived deep in the oversized/limited/original art pool. Not unlike IDW in the USA (and now Rebellion the UK), the original art facsimile book seems to have a small but devoted audience. And wealthy...

Oddly Hergé/ Tintin doesn't seem to play a big part of either that market or the deluxe market, at least that's what looking at a few retail sites suggest.
And yet "l'Alph-Art" feels like the progenitor of this whole approach.

Deeper down this hole I see there was a limited edition of the 80s Sundancer book, which itself always felt very limited! Either that or someone is chancing their arm and decided to stamp '250' into the book themselves!
If they have, it is a trend that's been started as there look to be two on ebay both with that exact number... also my 'methuen Cigars/Lotus' is available for 'just' £799.
Not literally mine, though maybe I need to check my bookshelves.

george
jock123
Moderator
#4 · Posted: 22 May 2023 13:35
george:
I see there was a limited edition of the 80s Sundancer book, which itself always felt very limited!

Tintin in the Land of the Soviets you mean? The English launch was designed to coincide with the 60th anniversary exhibition in Chelsea, and there was a brown cloth-covered version of the book, which has an inset of the art-work of the regular cover (Tintin in his Coassack gear, etc.) on the front. This was a numbered edition, although some un-numbered ones were also apparently sold off to finish the print run. I've not heard about double numbering, but it's possible someone has added numbers to these originally blank ones?
Oh, and the book should come with a cardboard bookmark, again showing Tintin in his Cossack costume.
george
Member
#5 · Posted: 24 May 2023 17:35
george:
[T]here's a new (albeit limited edition - sort of, 777 seems a lot to be limited. Was there a non-limited edition?) copy of the coloured Les cigares du pharaon which seems a bit steep. The 1938 is more my style, other than the price.

Justice was done in the end. The limited edition went for 'only' €142 whereas the original (actually, it says reprint but I assume that means 2nd or 3rd edition) was just shy of €2000.

Like the Rolling Stones on tour, these auctions never end. There's another running to the end of this week:

https://www.catawiki.com/en/a/758477-herge-tintin-auction

jock123:
Tintin in the Land of the Soviets you mean?

Yes, sorry, should've mentioned that small detail! My one's a standard edition with blue cloth spine. What surprises me is that is was published as late as 1989. I'd swear it was about 1986, albeit there's no logic to that other than being 'nearly in the 90s' feels quite late. I see Tintin and Herge Reporters is 1987 so it must be that I'm getting mixed up with. Oh, and the glue from the belly-band of my colour Congo has transfered to the cover of my Methuen Soviets!

(The formatting of our messages is looking a bit strange - lots of odd line breaks on a desktop rather than mobile)

george

Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the Forum Posting Guidelines.

Disclaimer: Tintinologist.org assumes no responsibility for any content you post to the forums/web site. Staff reserve the right to remove any submitted content which they deem in breach of Tintinologist.org's Terms of Use. If you spot anything on Tintinologist.org that you think is inappropriate, please alert the moderation team. Sometimes things slip through, but we will always act swiftly to remove unauthorised material.

Reply

 Forgot password
Please log in to post. No account? Create one!