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.
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.