An original and complete issue of the Journal de Tintin, N° 517, French Dargaud edition, dated 18 September 1958. It is the finest condition copy of the six 1958 issues in this collection, a good to very good copy with vivid, fully saturated cover colors and only light edge wear. It is distinguished by a Louis and Fred Funcken cover illustration of a Scottish Highland regiment, a magnificent Funcken double-page Wellington biography, a Jean Graton Michel Vaillant Le Mans racing episode, and the continuing "S.O.S. Météores!" serialization by E.P. Jacobs.
The Cover
The cover is by Louis and Fred Funcken, the celebrated Belgian brothers whose military historical illustrations for the Journal de Tintin are among the most accomplished, most precise, and most actively collected in the publication's history. A Scottish Highland regiment bagpiper in full dress uniform leads a column of Highland soldiers with bayoneted rifles across a green field. He wears a scarlet tunic, green and red tartan kilt, and black bearskin, with bagpipes at full play.
The scarlet and tartan of the uniforms are rendered with the meticulous historical accuracy that is the Funcken brothers' defining characteristic. The banner announces "DANS CE NUMÉRO: LE DUC DE FER", the Wellington biography that dominates the interior. The cover colors are vivid and fully saturated, the finest cover condition of the six 1958 issues in this collection.
Le Duc de Fer
The interior's headline content is the magnificent "Le Duc de Fer — Wellington 1769–1852", a full double-page color illustrated biography by Louis and Fred Funcken. It traces Wellington's career from his early Indian campaigns through the Peninsular War in a sequence of panels of extraordinary military historical precision.
The uniform detail is meticulous: the correct facing colors, lace patterns, and equipment of each regiment and period are rendered with the accuracy of military historians. British redcoats appear in India, the French Imperial Guard in their distinctive uniforms, and Wellington himself in his characteristic blue coat and cocked hat at the height of his Peninsular command. The battle compositions are dynamic and spatially complex, the color rich and fully preserved.
For collectors of the Funcken brothers' work, and they are numerous and serious, a double-page Wellington biography in its original publication context is a primary collecting target. For Napoleonic Wars and military history collectors, it is a significant period document of one of the most celebrated commanders in British military history, published in the centenary decade of Waterloo.
Le Grand Défi
The second major interior story is a full double-page episode of "Le Grand Défi" by Jean Graton, a Michel Vaillant Le Mans racing sequence of spectacular visual energy. Cars N°12 and N°7 thunder through the Le Mans circuit under the Dunlop bridge and past the L'Équipe pit straight advertising boards, in a sequence that captures the sound, speed, and drama of late-1950s Le Mans racing with a precision and immediacy that no photograph of the period surpasses.
The French vs. American racing rivalry that defines "Le Grand Défi" is established in the masthead itself, with French and American flags flanking the title. It plays out across the pages in pit lane drama, a crash sequence, and a tense conversation between Michel and a blonde woman. It is cross-collectible with Le Mans, motorsport, and Michel Vaillant collector communities.
Condition
Good to very good, the finest cover condition of the six 1958 issues in this collection. The cover colors are vivid and fully saturated: the scarlet of the Highland uniforms, the green of the tartan, and the black of the bearskins all crisp and unfaded. There is light edge wear at corners and along the right edge and a very faint center vertical fold line, with no significant creasing, no diagonal folds, and no ink loss. Interior pages are complete and intact, age-toned newsprint, with color pages strong and clear throughout.
Key Details
Type: Original vintage comics magazine — complete issue
Publication: Journal de Tintin — Le Journal des Jeunes de 7 à 77 ans
Publisher: G. Dargaud, Paris (French edition) / Éditions du Lombard, Brussels
Issue: N° 517 (French Dargaud edition)
Date: 18 September 1958
Language: French
Dimensions: 21 × 30 cm / 8 × 12 in
Cover: Louis & Fred Funcken — Scottish Highland regiment bagpiper in full dress uniform; "Le Duc de Fer" announced; vivid colors; light edge wear only, finest cover condition of the series
Key content: L. & F. Funcken "Le Duc de Fer: Wellington 1769–1852", double-page color illustrated biography, Indian campaigns through Peninsular War, meticulous military uniform detail; Jean Graton "Le Grand Défi" (Michel Vaillant), Le Mans race sequence, Dunlop bridge, L'Équipe pit straight, French vs. American rivalry, full color; E.P. Jacobs "S.O.S. Météores!" (Blake & Mortimer), continuing serialization
Condition: Good to very good — vivid, fully saturated cover colors; light edge wear only; interior complete and intact
Collectibility: Funcken brothers Wellington biography; Funcken Highland regiment cover; Graton Michel Vaillant Le Mans episode; Jacobs/Blake & Mortimer serialization
Why It's Special
This issue brings together the Funcken brothers at their military historical best, a Graton Le Mans racing sequence, and a continuing Jacobs serial in a single document. Its condition is the finest of the six 1958 issues in this collection. For collectors of European comics and military history alike, it is a primary target in its original publication context.
One Royal Art
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