Hergé (Georges Remi) – Original Encre de Chine Sketch for L'Étoile Mystérieuse (The Shooting Star), featuring Tintin observing Captain Haddock arguing with an officer, accompanied by a typewritten letter signed to Philippe Rouberol, dated February 4, 1975, with 2021 Comité d’œuvres de Studios Hergé Certificate of Authenticity.
This charming and historically rich piece comprises an original black ink drawing with a typewritten letter pasted onto the same support, creating a unified presentation. The overall sheet measures 312 mm wide × 242 mm vertical.
Left side – Original drawing:
Executed in encre de Chine (India ink) on paper. The sketch depicts a memorable comic panel from L'Étoile Mystérieuse (The Shooting Star), featuring Tintin standing by as Captain Haddock—in full dramatic form—argues with an unnamed officer. The title lettering for L'Étoile Mystérieuse is also sketched in Hergé's hand, suggesting this was a working study or a presentation piece. The scene captures Haddock's characteristic bluster and Tintin's quiet observation, rendered in Hergé's precise ligne claire style without colour.
Right side – Typewritten letter:
Hergé's personal typewritten letter to Monsieur Philippe Rouberol of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, dated February 4, 1975. Typed on official Studios Hergé letterhead (Avenue Louise 162, Brussels).
The letter confirms that the drawing was specifically chosen for its comic quality, at the request of Jean-Louis (likely a mutual acquaintance or family member of the recipient), and that Haddock was the favoured character. The secretary's initials "H/jbr." appear at the top, anchoring the piece to the Studios' correspondence practices of the mid-1970s.