Hergé's original model exhibited at his museum
In The Secret of the Unicorn (1943) and Red Rackham's Treasure (1944), its follow-up, Tintin accompanies Captain Haddock in the footsteps of his glorious ancestor. When the story started to appear in daily comic strips in Le Soir on 11 June 1942, Hergé was always looking for a way to digress from the news of the time. It is recalled that "The Unicorn", a third-rate vessel with two bridges and 50 canons, was built in 1690; every Tintin fan knows, of course, that this jewel of Louis XIV of France's fleet was commanded by Sir Francis Haddock, the ancestor of Captain Haddock.
The original model of The Unicorn, used by Hergé to draw the album "The Secret of the Unicorn", will be exhibited from 9 December 2017 to 7 January 2018 at the Hergé Museum in Louvain-la-Neuve on the occasion of the release of the book "Tous les secrets de La Licorne" (All the secrets of the Unicorn) published by Gallimard-Moulinsart. Commissioned by the creator of Tintin for the purpose of his story from the Brussels model-maker Gérard Liger-Belair in about 1942-1943, the cartoonist later offered the model to his vet in 1960. The object is extremely precise, having been inspired by plans of a 17th century French naval warship.
For practical information about the museum, please go to: http://www.museeherge.com/en/visite/infos.