The Adventures Of Tintin – Tintin And Alph-Art – First UK Edition – 1990

London: Sundancer, 1990. First UK edition.

Quarto. Original pictorial laminated boards. Size: 22.8cm x 30.4cm. Pp. 62.

Illustrated throughout in colour and black and white by Hergé. The posthumous and unfinished final Tintin adventure, published from the preparatory sketches and working drafts left incomplete at the time of Hergé’s death in 1983. Rather than presenting a completed narrative artificially finished by other hands, the volume preserves the artist’s original intentions, notes and sequential drawings, offering a uniquely revealing insight into Hergé’s creative process and the development of one of the twentieth century’s most celebrated comic series.

Tintin and Alph-Art occupies a singular place within the Tintin canon. Conceived during the final years of Hergé’s career, the story explores the worlds of modern art, forgery and criminal deception, themes particularly suited to Hergé’s own increasing engagement with contemporary art and collecting during the 1970s and early 1980s. The narrative introduces a mysterious artist cult centred around the character Endaddine Akass, while also revisiting long-standing motifs of illusion, identity and authenticity which recur throughout the Tintin adventures.

The present edition was published by Sundancer in London in 1990 and represents the first UK edition. Produced in the distinctive large-format style associated with Tintin publications, the volume reproduces Hergé’s surviving sketches, layouts and annotations with considerable fidelity. The unfinished nature of the work lends the book unusual documentary importance, allowing readers direct access to the artist’s evolving ideas, revisions and compositional methods.

Condition is very near fine overall. The original pictorial boards remain bright and attractive. Binding nice and firm. Pages very clean throughout. Spine slightly creased. A very near fine, tight, clean copy of an increasingly sought-after late Tintin title.

Code: 003680

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Cataloguer: Daniel Hornsey

Daniel Hornsey has specialised in fine and rare books, ephemera, and collectors’ editions for over thirty years. As a long-standing member of the antiquarian book trade, he has advised private collectors, curated catalogues, and sourced works for leading dealers, libraries and institutions across the world.

Hornseys’ exhibit regularly at book and map fairs in London and throughout the UK and are members of the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association, the PBFA.

His fascination with Hergé’s work — especially ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ — began in childhood. Daniel recalls reading Tintin in original European editions and quickly recognising that these were not merely children’s books, but finely illustrated narratives crafted with artistic depth and wit.

As noted by the Musée Hergé in Louvain-la-Neuve, Hergé’s ‘ligne claire’ style has influenced generations of European comic artists and his original drawings and paintings command very high prices with his painting of ‘The Blue Lotus’ jar fetching £2.8m at auction in 2021.

By presenting these works through Hornseys’, he hopes to contribute to the continued appreciation of one of the 20th century’s most influential illustrators, helping new generations discover the artistry and legacy of Hergé.