Estimated together at £800-1200 on May 20-21 at Hawley’s (20% buyer’s premium) were four original sketches by the Belgium artist along with four comic books from the 1940s-50s, three in French – On a Marche sur la Lune, Objectif Lune and Le Tresor Rackham Le Rouge, Objectif Lune – and The secret of the Unicorn in English.
The last two named had the distinction of signed inscriptions from Hergé dating from 1953, with best wishes to a Monsieur TL Ward in one case, with the message in French, and Mr TL Ward with an English note.
Tintin books inscribed by Hergé and artwork sold at Hawleys for £22,500.
The items were consigned to the Beverley saleroom from the family of the recipient, their father. The family believe it was a chance meeting with Hergé (Georges Prosper Remi) and Ward got to know him.
After a contest against two phone lines and online bidders the lot sold to a German private collector on the phone for £22,500.
Huge prices
Tintin artwork can make huge prices. In February this year a full-page cover of the 1942 edition of Tintin in America took €1.7m (£1.5m) or €2.16m including buyer’s premium, making an auction record for an original black and white drawing by Hergé.
Following a phone bidding battle it sold to an international collector at Artcurial in Paris, against an estimate of €2.2m-3.2m.
