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Le naufrage de la Licorne is a 37-page book, almost identical to the original Unicorn album, except this version is in black (actually, dark tan) and white; it has a different cover, title, and it contains some extra frames and slightly modified dialogue.

Does anyone have more information on this numbered edition book, published by Jean Lafitte of Geneva?

My French is too rusty to follow what the album's preface says. Is this a legally published book? Did Hergé draw the extra frames and write the additional lines?

The story is taken directly from the original strips published in Le Soir during the war, so yes they are all Hergé. Some frames would obviously have had to be dropped in order to make the published book fit into 62 pages.

I don't reckon this was legally published - Moulinsart probably wouldn't allow it.

Leaving out the first bit of blurb, the second part of the preface translates something like this:

The initial story The Wreck of 'The Unicorn' was to be entirely redrawn and improved by Hergé, becoming thereafter The Secret of 'The Unicorn' from Editions Casterman.

The release of this new album in black-and-white thus represents a really great way for his many fans to admire this great Master.

The basic material of this album is the fruit of long years of research, because this story appeared in daily strips during the German occupation in a large Belgian national daily paper, Le Soir, and was then preciously preserved by a young collector of the era.
Many readers had fun at that time gathering all the strips that appeared in the newspapers on sheets of paper to make their own complete stories for themselves.
Therefore we repeat: the release of this book, The Wreck of 'The Unicorn' is a happy event, and we can affirm ourselves to be the only ones in possession of such scarce material.

This work constitutes the original edition of the album The Secret of 'The Unicorn' in black and white.

This is one of a thousand copies, numbered from 1 to 1,000
No.907
Jean Lafitte
Cheif Editor in Geneva

Thank you, Ed and Chris, for answering my questions.
Ed is probably right about the book not being a Moulinsart endorsed publication.
Does either of you know if Editions Jean Lafitte ever released any more Tintin titles besides The Wreck of 'The Unicorn'?

That seems to be the only Jean Lafitte publication I can find - it seems to be a psuedonym, interestingly named after a famous 19th Century French pirate!

I did a quick search on Google for the title, and then used Google's translator to view some pages...however, I didn't find out much.

Are there any differences with the finished book form?

Paul

Within Naufrage there are a few frames which were cut to fit the new 62-page format when the Secret album was prepared.
The sizes of some of the frames are obviously smaller than some of those in the standard book (the battle with the pirates on the Unicorn, etc. get expanded fir the colour edition).
Otherwise it is the pretty much the same version as the book.

I have seen similar versions of the original (unfinished) Land of Black Gold and Seven Crystal Balls, both of which are very interesting.
Black Gold is the completely different version published in Le Petit Vingtième, with some very significant differences between the final finished book. Crystal Balls is also taken from daily strips published in Le Soir. Neither say the publisher's name.

I'm absolutely certain that these are all pirate books.

Chris

When I was in Lille a few years ago I bought the Version Originale of Le Temple Du Soleil, published by Casterman in original landscape strip format, a facsimilie of how it was published in the Tintin magazine.
It has a fascinating introduction (in French). Some of the strips are only two tiers per page (most are 3) and include the Oui etaient les Incas? sections used to fill out the space.

As with the versions that Chris mentions, it is very interesting to see the cut scenes and odd panel here-and–there that was dropped when it was converted into album format.

Sorry... A bit off-specific-topic, but along the same lines!

- Garen.

I'd definitely recommend the unfinished 1939 version of Land of Black Gold for its interesting historical perspective. However I'm still trying to get my hands on the 1948 Tintin magazine edition.

Le Soir will start publishing the original version of Le Secret de 'La Licorne' (i.e. the daily strips that appeared in its pages during WWII) on September 10th!

A good opportunity for those of you who do not own the Laffite version from 1982 to rediscover this great adventure of Tintin.

I don't know yet if they plan to re-publish other adventures like 7 Boules de Cristal, Red Rackham or the more controversial Shooting Star...

Best from Brussels,
Patrick