Tintin Forums

Whilst browsing ebay I came across German Research in World War II, the book which features in [i]The Calculus Affair. The seller notes that it's much sought after, "even apparently by Fanny Rodwell". The Tintin connection certainly makes for a good selling point; with four days to go 'til close of sale it appears to be reaching a fair old price (140 euros).

One other point of note is the swastika (see here) - which appears on the original book cover - has been covered by a piece of black tape (just as Hergé left the symbol out of the copy which he drew).

That'd be quite an interesting item to own; it never ceases to amaze me the extent to which Hergé copied every single detail accurately (except, of course, the swastika), even so far as keeping the text in English.

Harrock n roll
it's much sought after, "even apparently by Fanny Rodwell"

I find that a bit surprising, considering Hergé's extensive archiving of source material. Maybe the Fondation spilt coffee over their copy?

Just noticed the similarity between the rocket on the book and the moon rocket in the two previous albums. Could Hergé have had the research book for a while, and unconsciously designed the colors of the moon rocket to be red and white squares? Does anyone know who drew/designed the cover for the research book?

Out of interest, does anyone know which edition the version shown in The Calculus Affair is? I’d sort of assumed it was the first, but there happens to be a copy on http://www.abebooks.co.uk just now, and that has a completely different cover image.

Just thought this might be of interest to anyone contemplating buying a copy without seeing the cover first!

jock123 does anyone know which edition

I think the one from The Calculus Affair is probably a first edition (1947), in fact I'm not sure that it was ever reprinted. The book you have shown from abebooks is from 1971 which - according to what I've read on one French language site - is not to be confused with the earlier edition.

I've never seen a copy to confirm but it's possible the 1971 book (Secret Weapons of the Third Reich) just shares it's subtitle (German Research in World War II) with the original book and might not contain the same text or images.

labrador road 26 Could Hergé have had the research book for a while, and unconsciously designed the colors of the moon rocket to be red and white squares?

Many of the original V2 rockets from the second world war used a chequered pattern, as it says here, "to observe any variation or roll of the rocket".

It's certainly possible that Hergé's rocket was inspired by the book cover. He began to research the moon adventure in 1947, the same year that German Research in WW II was published, and it would have been quite a useful resource.