1 / 3
Photo 1/3 du lotPhoto 2/3 du lotPhoto 3/3 du lot
Premium Artcurial

181 - HERGÉ Quick and Flupke The new exploits of Quick and Flupke,…
See original version (French)

Estimate €6,000 - €8,000
Sale commission
Description
HERGÉ Quick and Flupke The new exploits of Quick and Flupke, Brussels kids - 5th series Casterman, 1940. 2nd plate A12, grey endpapers. First edition. An exceptional and unique working copy by Hergé. Each story in this collection (Hergé's only album published in 1940), which comprises 42 stories (36 double plates, 3 short stories in one plate and 3 illustrations, including the cover of Petit Vingtième n°51, 22 December 1938), has been numbered in graphite in the margin. They have been carefully summarised on the last page (in graphite, marked with a cross in red and green pencil), and several of them have been crossed out in green pencil. Some of the annotations are in Hergé's handwriting, others by an unidentified collaborator. In the spring of 1943, he was working on the reworking of the black and white versions of Tintin in America and Tintin in the Congo, and, with Alice Devos, on the colouring of The Secret of the Unicorn and then The Crab with the Golden Claws. Clearly, he had also planned a reworking of Quick and Flupke. There are obvious similarities between this album and two important documents that testify to the way Hergé worked: the Tintin Éléments notebook from 1937 (Fondation Hergé collection) and a notebook of notes and sketches concerning Quick and Flupke (Artcurial, 30 April 2016, no. 165; private collection), the latter document being closely linked to the plates that appear in this collection. Cahier Tintin Éléments p. 4: "Fait" in red pencil, underlined. Notes concerning a passage from The Black Island. p. 7: "done" in red pencil. Tintin dressed in a kilt with a cross through it, annotated "Tintin in Scotland". Quick and Flupke notebook p. 1: "done" in red pencil. Crossed-out scene corresponding to L'art du plongeon (p. 48-49 of the album), annotated "Flupke (Bassin de natation)". p. 3: "done" in red pencil. Scene crossed out corresponding to Un beau coup de fusil (p. 58-59), annotated "La chasse est ouverte" ("The hunt is on"). p. 3: "done" in graphite, underlined. Text of three lines corresponding to Utilisation rationnelle (p. 68-69). p. 19: "done" in red pencil, underlined. Scene crossed out corresponding to the Etruscan Vase (p. 4-5). p. 20: "done" in red pencil, underlined. Crossed-out scene corresponding to Vérité en publicité (p. 40-41). Annotations Quick and Flupke album: - The Etruscan vase, p. 4-5. Handwritten inscription in graphite, p. 4: "Done on 12 May 43". - A propos, p. 6-7. Handwritten inscription in blue pencil, p. 7: "Done". - The eternal victim, p. 12-13. Decorative elements have been added in graphite: bricks in the wall, silhouette of buildings in the background, palisade, foliage. The "No Parking" sign has been given the usual symbol, and a speech bubble has been drawn over the head of Constable 15 (p. 13, first panel). - Business as usual, p. 14-16. Handwritten inscription in red pencil on p. 14: "Fait le 14 avril 43. - The child prodigy, p. 18-19. Handwritten inscription in blue pencil, underlined, p. 19: "done". - Ingratitude, p. 22-23. Handwritten inscription in blue pencil, underlined, p. 23: "Done". - Old story, p. 24-25. Handwritten inscription in blue pencil, underlined, p. 25: 'done'. - Hot weather, p. 28-29. Handwritten inscription in blue pencil, underlined, p. 29: "Done". - Long live the holidays, p. 30-31. Handwritten inscription in blue pencil on p. 30, probably intended for the printer: "250 mm". - Scrupules, p. 32-33. Handwritten inscription in blue pencil, underlined, p. 33: "Done". - Bluff, p. 34-35. Handwritten entry in graphite on p. 35, which looks like a telephone number: "37.56.91". - Le débrouillard, p. 50-51. Handwritten inscription in blue pencil, underlined, p. 51: "Fait". - Histoire de chasse, p. 56-57. Handwritten inscription in graphite, p. 57: "done". - Un homme d'intérieur, p. 74-75. Handwritten inscription in blue pencil, underlined, p. 75: "Done". - St-Nicolas displays, p. 76. Handwritten inscription in graphite, probably intended for the printer: "R 58 %". Quick and Flupke, "Brussels kids". It's all in the title. They won't be venturing to South America to recover the fetish of a tribe renowned for its curare-poisoned dart-throwers. They won't travel to Scotland, to a cursed island inhabited by a terrifying creature, to dismantle a network of counterfeiters. They won't be going to the aid of a peaceful Central European kingdom populated by black pelicans to foil an attempted coup d'état hatched by a neighbour with overweening ambitions. No, they much prefer the Belgian capital. Their indiscipline, their propensity to stir up trouble and their mischievous ramblings clearly set them apart from Tintin, the well-behaved boy scout. What's more, they know the reporter from Le Petit Vingtième: they met (in June 1930) on the station platform, before he set off for the Congo... Clearly, Hergé was having just as much fun as these two gently seditious kids: everything he couldn't afford with Tintin and Snowy, he did with Quick and Flupke. At the same time, he refined his storytelling technique: short, fast-paced two-panel stories - getting to the point in just a few frames makes a big difference. The exploits of Quick and Flupke are by no means marginal, and it would be a mistake to underestimate them. Typically Brussels (let's not forget that at the time, Hergé's work was rarely exported; Belgium was his main market), but linked to the cartoonist's childhood memories, and to what the Tintin adventures of the 1930s represent. We would like to thank the Fondation Hergé for confirming the authenticity of this album. HERGÉ
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale Comic strips
Auction location
Auction time 06/11/2026 at 1:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like