Tintin in the Congo - First Edition Color Replica

Facsimiles are identical copies of the first editions of Tintin's albums. Congo, America, and Cigars were the only albums to be redrawn for the color editions. These three adventures deserved significant revisions to reach the graphic and narrative quality level that Hergé had achieved by the mid-1940s. Tintin in the Congo was always a good seller. Despite the significant revision work deemed necessary, and although it was more than ten years before African independence, the adventure had to be adapted to the evolving sensitivities regarding colonization. The new version of Tintin in the Congo was released in July 1946, at the same time as Tintin in America, soon followed by the color editions of The Blue Lotus and King Ottokar's Sceptre (1947). These four original color editions were released in the so-called B1 version (BDM reference); with the fourth cover characterized by a new list of publications (with King Ottokar's Sceptre as the last title) and the Captain's two-color sweater. The cover title was in white reserve on a blue sky. It was replaced, as early as 1948, by black lettering alone, allowing the translated titles to be printed without changing any colors other than black. As in many original editions, the interior title was printed in colors, here in blue. Again, technical requirements quickly changed it to black alone. There are original editions with a red spine, but it is the yellow spine, later abandoned for this title, that most characterizes this first edition and thus also its facsimile.