Ridgewell The Explorer – Figurines Tintin La Collection Officielle – 23 – Ridgewell L’Explorateur

Author: Hergé & Editions Moulinsart
Price: £50.00
Publisher: Editions Moulinsart
Publication date: 2012
Format: Original pictorial boards with passport and figurine
Condition: In new condition
Illustrations: Illustrated throughout

Description:

Original pictorial boards. Includes passport loosely inserted. Text in French. Includes the accompanying figurine. One from the collection of 111 books and figurines. In new condition in original packaging.

Ridgewell: A Short Biography

Ridgewell is a memorable secondary character in Hergé’s The Adventures of Tintin, notable for his eccentricity, wit, and unusual life among an isolated South American tribe. Though he appears in only a few stories, he leaves a strong impression, blending comic relief with genuine resourcefulness.

Character Profile

Ridgewell is portrayed as an Englishman, tall and lanky, with untidy hair, a scruffy moustache, and the air of a man who has lived outside conventional society for years. He wears improvised clothing more suited to the jungle than to polite civilisation, reflecting his long residence away from European life.

He is humorous, sarcastic, and occasionally mischievous, often treating Tintin and Captain Haddock’s bewilderment with dry amusement. His most striking trait is his decision to abandon modern civilisation and integrate fully with the Arumbaya people, among whom he finds a peculiar form of contentment.

First Appearance: The Broken Ear

Ridgewell makes his debut in The Broken Ear. Tintin encounters him deep in the South American jungle, where he has lived for many years after leaving Europe. He acts as an intermediary between Tintin and the Arumbayas, helping to explain the tribe’s customs and providing comic interludes with his eccentric behaviour.

Ridgewell is shown firing a blowpipe at Captain Haddock to cure his hiccups, a moment that captures both his unconventional methods and Hergé’s light-hearted touch. Despite his oddities, Ridgewell proves helpful to Tintin, offering guidance and occasional support in navigating the dangers of the jungle.

Later Appearance: Tintin and the Picaros

Ridgewell reappears years later in Tintin and the Picaros, once again living with the Arumbayas. His life has changed little, and he continues to enjoy the tribe’s hospitality while showing no desire to return to Europe. His presence adds continuity to Tintin’s South American adventures, reinforcing Hergé’s practice of reintroducing secondary characters to enrich the series’ world.

Relationship with Other Characters

Ridgewell’s relationship with Tintin is marked by wry amusement. He respects Tintin’s courage and integrity but enjoys teasing him, highlighting the contrast between Tintin’s seriousness and his own laid-back eccentricity. With Captain Haddock, Ridgewell’s playful streak is even more pronounced, as Haddock often reacts with outrage to Ridgewell’s unconventional behaviour.

Despite this, Ridgewell is ultimately good-natured and helpful, offering Tintin the assistance he needs without ever taking events too seriously. His rapport with the Arumbayas is one of mutual respect, and he seems genuinely at ease living outside the structures of European society.

Thematic Significance

Ridgewell embodies the theme of exile and voluntary separation from civilisation. Unlike Tintin, who is constantly travelling in search of truth and justice, Ridgewell has deliberately chosen to withdraw from the modern world. His decision can be read as comic eccentricity but also as a critique of Western civilisation, suggesting that happiness can be found in alternative ways of life.

His humour and eccentricity provide a counterbalance to the dangers of Tintin’s South American adventures, ensuring that the narrative remains light-hearted without undermining its tension.

Legacy

Though a minor character, Ridgewell is fondly remembered by readers for his eccentric charm, comic timing, and unusual lifestyle. He represents Hergé’s talent for populating Tintin’s world with colourful personalities who make even the briefest encounters memorable.

By bridging cultures, mocking convention, and embracing eccentricity, Ridgewell adds depth and flavour to the Tintin universe, reminding readers that adventure often leads to the unexpected.

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Cataloguer: Daniel Hornsey

Daniel Hornsey has specialised in fine and rare books, ephemera, and collectors’ editions for over thirty years. As a long-standing member of the antiquarian book trade, he has advised private collectors, curated catalogues, and sourced works for leading dealers, libraries and institutions across the world.

Hornseys’ exhibit regularly at book and map fairs in London and throughout the UK and are members of the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association, the PBFA.

His fascination with Hergé’s work — especially ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ — began in childhood. Daniel recalls reading Tintin in original European editions and quickly recognising that these were not merely children’s books, but finely illustrated narratives crafted with artistic depth and wit.

As noted by the Musée Hergé in Louvain-la-Neuve, Hergé’s ‘ligne claire’ style has influenced generations of European comic artists and his original drawings and paintings command very high prices with his painting of ‘The Blue Lotus’ jar fetching £2.8m at auction in 2021.

By presenting these works through Hornseys’, he hopes to contribute to the continued appreciation of one of the 20th century’s most influential illustrators, helping new generations discover the artistry and legacy of Hergé.