CLAYMORE – Clare – Original Illustration Reproduction, Volume 10 (unknown origin)
There are pieces you go looking for.
And then there are those that find you.
Sommaire
This one belongs to the second category.
I had never seen this reproduction before 2025.
Not in public sales, not in archives, not even mentioned by other collectors.
It didn’t exist. Until the day it suddenly appeared while I was casually browsing Mercari.
A single image.
A single occurrence.
And immediately, that strange feeling: this doesn’t look like the others.
Context & discovery
I was searching through Claymore reproductions. Rare objects, and above all, images I usually know very well.
And then, suddenly, this illustration.
A reproduction (複製原画), apparently based on the cover of volume 10.
No clear description. No source. No history.
Just there, included in a heterogeneous lot mixing illustrations, reproductions, and originals.
What strikes you immediately is not only its rarity.
It’s its isolation.
I found only one other visual reference.
But no parallel traces, no similar copies.
As if this piece had never been meant to circulate.
Why this reproduction matters
It is so extremely uncommon that I’m surprised it exists at all.
It is signed, and the author has deliberately obscured the identifying information.
My attempts / frustrations
The lot was listed at ¥650,000.
A price that, in itself, isn’t absurd for a group of Claymore-related pieces… but completely disproportionate for a blind investigation.
No guarantee.
No authentication.
Not even certainty that this reproduction is official.
So I watch this lot from afar, with that unpleasant feeling collectors know well: letting a piece slip away due to a lack of information or an excessive price.
What I know (and what remains unknown)
At this stage, the facts are sparse:
- A single appearance on Mercari (2025)
- An illustration reproduction attributable to volume 10
- No known catalog reference
- No identified print run
- No documented provenance
And yet, this very absence is unsettling.
Because Claymore is a license that has been extremely well mapped by Japanese collectors.
Grey areas are rare.
And when they exist, they usually have a reason.
Why I keep searching
Because this type of piece raises a real question:
What if some reproductions were never intended as products, but as working artefacts?
I would be surprised if it were truly unique.
But I would be just as surprised if it were entirely insignificant.
And until I have a clear answer (publisher, context, print run, original purpose) the hunt continues.
Call for help
If you own this reproduction, if you’ve seen another one, if you have a photo, an archive, a memory, even a vague one, please contact me.
Dans ce genre de recherche, une information minuscule peut tout faire basculer.
Quick notes
Provenance: unknown
Number of copies: unknown
Original retail price: unknown
Resale price: unknown
Seen on: Mercari (2025)
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