A sale of Tintin memorabilia at the Piasa auction house in Paris has been completed and proved to be a great success.
The Belgian reporter and his dog Snowy has fans around the world, especially in Western Europe, and many of them proved to have an interest in collecting his memorabilia.
The top lot, as expected, was an original rendering of plates 75 and 76 of The Ottokar Sceptre. Black ink on drawing paper with gouache and a little blue watercolourwere used to create the piece, which also sports Hergé's signature in the corner.
The piece sold for €243,743 - roughly what was expected. But other pieces beat their estimates easily.
 Tintin, Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus and Snowy on a beach |
A colourful painting of an idyllic scene with Tintin and Captain Haddock strolling cheerfully down the beach (Haddock carrying a model ship, The Unicorn; Tintin bearing a large seashell) with Snowy carrying a bone and Professor Calculus in the background brought €131,246 against a €50,000-70,000 guide price.
A remarkable bronze statue of Tintin and Snowy likewise achieved €124,996, beating its €100,000-120,000 expected range, whilst the signed plate number 7 from The Calculus Affair sold on target at €112,497.
 Plate 7 from Tintin's L'Affaire Tournesol (The Calculus Affair) |
The auction is a reminder that comic books with gentler heroes than Superman and the Incredible Hulk can be valuable investments. Collectors and investors may be interested to know that several pieces by Peanuts creator Charles Schulz are currently available.
Meanwhile The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, directed by Steven Spielberg, is scheduled for a December 2011 release. The film may be expected to give an extra boost to the value of the young Belgian's memorabilia.
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