Swedish: Kalle och Hobbe

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Kalle och Hobbe

Serie Paraden

Serie Paraden #5

1133. 4751999. BILL WATTERSON. Calvin and Hobbes, "Hello to Sweden".

700,000 SEK ($73,534 USD) 

Description

Three items.

Watercolor, pencil and ink on paper, sheet dimensions 17.4 x 20.3 cm. Signed WATTERSON.

C-print, 29.8 x 21.1 cm.

One issue of SERIEPARADEN, No. 1 1987.

The American cartoonist Bill Watterson (born 1958) is the creator of the well-known daily comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, published between 1985 and 1995. The strip quickly gained wide international distribution and was published in approximately 2,400 newspapers worldwide at its peak. When Watterson ended the strip on December 31, 1995 – at its height – he withdrew from public life, which further fueled the myth surrounding him as a person. This, combined with the fact that the majority of his originals are today preserved at The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum following a donation by Watterson himself, has contributed to original works only exceptionally appearing on the market.

The present auction lot represents just such an exception – a unique and museum-quality ensemble with a direct connection to the introduction of Calvin and Hobbes in Sweden.

The handmade original drawing, signed and inscribed with the greeting “Hello to Sweden!”, was executed as an exclusive, personal gift to the publisher of Serieparaden, Alf Thorsjö. The motif, in which Watterson depicts himself at the drawing board together with Calvin and Hobbes, is both playful and self-reflective – a rare example of the artist in direct dialogue with his own characters.
The drawing was published in Serieparaden no. 1 (1987), the historic debut issue for Calvin and Hobbes in Sweden, where it is reproduced on the inside cover together with a photograph of Watterson, taken by Alf himself during an early visit to the USA. The auction lot includes said issue as well as a photograph in the same spirit that Alf took on a later occasion to further promote the magazine. On the back of the original, there is a stamped address, a detail from the production process of that time when originals were sent to print for reproduction – an important provenance-bearing element.
The ensemble constitutes not only an original work, but a complete and well-documented historical context – from the artist's hand to publication and promotion. The combination of original art, first publication, and contemporary photography makes this an extremely rare opportunity for collectors to acquire a central piece of international and Swedish comic history.

Condition

The drawing is in good condition, unframed.

The photograph has three minor handling creases in the lower right corner, unframed.

The magazine is in good condition.