Georges REMI, known as HERGÉ (1907-1983) TINTIN IN AMERICA 2nd plate P3, 1932, Les éditions du Petit Vingtième, Carmine red pegamoid spine Les éditions du Petit Vingtième writes small, and the inverted commas are placed at the top. 123 pages without pagination. 10th thousand, which is exceptional as the commercial print run was only divided into 9th thousand for a total of 5,400 copies. The publication of this last adventure of Tintin, the third, edited by Abbé Wallez and the Petit Vingtième publishing house, was accompanied by an advertising campaign featuring the return of Tintin on Sunday 13 November 1932 at the Saint Boniface Institute in Ixelles. Originally, a subscription for the first 1,000 copies was planned, but no first print run was made. Unlike the adventures of Tintin in the Land of the Soviets and Tintin in the Congo, Le Petit Vingtième did not produce a first edition of this adventure. As with all the editions produced by the Brussels publishing house, the original edition was divided into ten series of one thousand copies, and here again the series were incomplete; in the case of Tintin in America we know that although copies of 6, 7, 8 and 9 thousand copies can be found, in reality only 5,400 albums were actually published, and the last of these were not sold by Éditions Casterman until the early 1940s. Although this was the fourth story published by Le Petit Vingtième, the quality of the albums was the same as that of the previous adventures, in terms of the printing of the image on the front cover, the paper and the spines, which means that it is very rare to find first editions of Le Petit Vingtième with white covers and fresh interiors with little or no restoration. The dedication of this album is therefore part of this exceptional and historic series of letters sent by Hergé to one of the most important people of his youth and at the very basis of his work, and completes the revelation of the true identity of Tintin and the source of his creator's inspiration. Hergé, who had fond memories of his first trips abroad with the Abbé and around twenty other scouts, to Switzerland and Italy (1922) and then to Paris and the Pyrenees (1923), sent this album to Abbé Helsen on 5 December 1933. This dedication testifies to his loyalty to these memories, particularly of his trips to the Alps and the Pyrenees, and his gratitude for the teaching and values instilled by Abbé Helsen, confiding in him for the only time in his life that Tintin was him: "...besides, Tintin is just another me, who would have continued along this path, to the full...". This dedication is all the more historic for the fact that Hergé never wanted to directly confirm this identification and dodged the question, as for example in 1979 during Bernard Pivot's famous programme "Apostrophes", when he also spoke of all the other characters. In a way, General de Gaulle did this indirectly when he said: "My only international rival is Tintin! This is a true youthful confession, made possible by Hergé's age at the time, 25, and above all by the identity of the addressee, his guide, the only person to whom he could freely express his thoughts. It is particularly striking and interesting to note that this letter, like those in the series of dedications to Abbé Helsen, are signed Georges Remi and not Hergé, which shows their particularly intimate nature and the importance he had for Hergé. Since 1924, the official signature of Georges Remi, draughtsman and artist, has been Hergé, the phonetic spelling of his initials R. G. To this day, we know of practically no dedication where Hergé as artist or illustrator signs his name in full. An exceptional album. White boards, sharp corners and interior in excellent condition. Some very slight restorations, spine in bright red cloth. It should be noted that this album is probably a unique edition, its spine is carmine red percaline, although not listed in the BDM, it has never been seen for sale. A museum piece because of its historic mailing. Undoubtedly Hergé's most important personal letter. One of a kind. Hergé/Tintinimaginatio 2024