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I'm looking for month names mentioned in Tintin books. I have found May in The Castafiore Emerald, February in Picaros, August in LOBG, and possibly July in Tibet. (The cancellation on the letter from Chang appears to have the date "15 VII 58"), and April and May noted on wallets at the end of Unicorn.

The letter Tintin finds on page 3 of The Red Sea Sharks is dated "26-9" in the French version, leading Yves Horeau to surmise that much of the action in the book takes place during the latter half of October and into early November (Horeau, Tintin, Haddock et les Bateaux, pp.48-9; pp.50-1 in the English translation The Adventures of Tintin at Sea). Strangely, the climate at Marlinspike on their return is anything but autumnal...

Ed

possibly July in Tibet.
In the newspaper (p.2, A1), 'Katmandu, 10' likely means the article was written in Nepal on August 10 rather than on July 10, a date that would predate (!) the cancellation of Chang's letter (July 19 rather than 15).
Thus the Tibet adventure likely takes place in August rather than July.

In Destination Moon, a calender's leaflets read MA..., hence March or May (p.50, C3).
May seems more likely though, considering Tintin is wearing short sleeves while in the mountains, and the Moon rocket departure is planned at 1.34 A.M. on June 3 (p.50, C4).

In Explorers on the Moon, June is confirmed in Calculus' diary, that reads June 3 to 6 (p.32, A3+B3).

In 2000, the funny site crypto62 tried a 'cryptographic' study of Tintin by means of months and Zodiacal signs, but it seems it was a deadlock, as it was never completed and no serious keys were given (certainly good Spanish but rather poor French).

In Destination Moon, a calender's leaflets read MA..., hence March or May (p.50, C3).
May seems more likely though, considering Tintin is wearing short sleeves while in the mountains, and the Moon rocket departure is foreseen at 1.34 A.M. on June 3 (p.50, C4).

Though Destination Moon takes place over several months (see p.27 a1 - "Some weeks later" and p.36 c1 - "Some months later"), so while it is possible to pinpoint the months in which certain scenes take place, it is harder to do this to the story as a whole. What might help is that the cast appear to go straight to Syldavia directly on their return from the Middle East (the Tintin magazine version made this clearer). So if we can ascertain roughly when Land of Black Gold ends, we can tell when Destination Moon starts.

Page 56 of Red Rackham's Treasure gives the date of the Sirius' return as July 23rd, suggesting that the voyage to the island takes place during July, perhaps leaving in late June. This is consistent with the stolen wallets at the end of The Secret of the Unicorn, which give dates in April and May. It's reasonable to say that the search for the three scrolls therefore takes place during this time, then one month to prepare for the journey (Unicorn p.62 b1), and a departure in June.

Ed