Rare Oor Wullie annual sells for £5400 at auction

The 1940 comic book was discovered during a loft clear-out at an Edinburgh property which also uncovered a second edition Broons annual from 1942. Picture: PA

The first edition Oor Wullie annual, which was found in the loft of an Edinburgh home eight years ago, sold for £ 5,400 at McTear’s Auctioneers in Glasgow.

The 74-year-old book was discovered when relatives of the late home owner were clearing out her house in the Scottish capital.

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The annual, published in 1940, was originally buried among a pile of others, and was only discovered when the family were later scanning through the ageing collection.

The owners only realised the first edition annual was a collectible when they spotted the date on the front cover.

Among the find there was also a Broons annual, which sold for four times its estimated price -- selling for £3000.

Brian Clements, managing director at McTear’s, said: “Oor Wullie has fans across the globe and we knew there would be a lot of interest in this very rare edition.

“There were a lot of bids on the night, resulting in a great price for the book.

“Bidding was also fierce for the Broons second edition with a whopping £3000 secured at the auction.

“Along with The Broons, the Oor Wullie annual remains a must-have Christmas gift.

“Wullie’s been part of our childhoods since the 1930s and we were delighted to sell these very special pieces of memorabilia.”

The nine-year-old Wullie, of the fictional town of Auchenshoogle, has been one of Scotland’s most beloved comic strip characters for nearly 80 years.

Drawn by artist Dudley D. Watkins, Wullie made his debut in the “fun section” of the Sunday Post newspaper in March 1936, with the first Christmas annual released in 1940.

He is depicted in dungarees, spiked hair; his stories usually starting with him contemplating atop his upturned pail.

Wullie’s antics, and those of his pals Wee Eck, Fat Boab and Soapy Joe, as well as PC Murdoch, Maw, Paw and pet ‘moose’ Jeemy and terrier Harry, are all depicted in the Scots dialect.

The Oor Wullie annual was expected to go for between £3,000 and £5,000 at McTear’s in their Furniture, Works of Art and Collectables auction on Tuesday evening.

• Pieces of original artwork for two of the books in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series are expected to fetch five-figure sums when they are auctioned in the USA

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