Tintin In A Diving Suit – Figurines Tintin La Collection Officielle – 65 – Tintin En Scaphandre Marin

Author: Hergé & Editions Moulinsart
Price: £70.00
Publisher: Editions Moulinsart
Publication date: 2014
Format: Original pictorial boards with passport and figurine
Condition: In near fine 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. Very slight wear. In very near fine, clean condition overall.

Tintin In A Diving Suit: A Brief Account

The image of Tintin in a diving suit — or, in French, Tintin en scaphandre marin — comes from one of the most evocative episodes in Hergé’s series: Red Rackham’s Treasure (Le Trésor de Rackham le Rouge, 1944).

In this story, Tintin, accompanied by Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus, sets out to locate the sunken wreck of the Unicorn, the 17th-century ship once commanded by Haddock’s ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock. The adventure leads Tintin beneath the sea — literally and symbolically — in one of Hergé’s most serene and visually lyrical sequences.

Context in Red Rackham’s Treasure

After deciphering the mystery of The Secret of the Unicorn, Tintin and Captain Haddock set off aboard the research vessel Sirius, supplied by Calculus, to find the treasure of the pirate Red Rackham.

When they reach the approximate location of the Unicorn’s wreck, Tintin dons an old-fashioned copper and canvas diving suit, complete with helmet, air hose, and weighted boots. Assisted from the surface by Haddock, he descends into the ocean depths — one of the first fully realised underwater sequences in European comic art.

Artistic Achievement

Hergé’s depiction of Tintin in a diving suit marked a milestone in his visual storytelling. Rendered with exquisite precision and restraint, the underwater panels are among the most atmospheric in the entire Tintin canon.

Using soft blues, greens, and muted lines, Hergé conveyed a sense of quiet immersion and dreamlike stillness. The sea becomes a place of discovery rather than danger — an underwater cathedral where Tintin drifts weightlessly through beams of light.

Every detail of the diving gear is drawn with technical accuracy. Hergé, fascinated by machinery and exploration, based the suit on real 1930s deep-sea equipment, demonstrating both his research and his respect for scientific realism.

Symbolism

The image of Tintin underwater carries deep thematic resonance.

1. Descent into History:
   As Tintin explores the wreck of the Unicorn, he is literally delving into the past — uncovering the hidden legacy of Captain Haddock’s ancestor. The ocean represents memory, mystery, and the unconscious, making Tintin’s dive a symbolic journey into buried history.
2. Purity of Exploration:
   Red Rackham’s Treasure is notable for its absence of villains or violence. It is a story of pure adventure and curiosity. Tintin’s calm descent embodies Hergé’s ideal of exploration for knowledge’s sake — a world governed not by greed, but by wonder.
3. Science and Imagination United:
   The diving suit, a product of human ingenuity, becomes a vessel of discovery. Through technology, Tintin accesses realms once inaccessible — a celebration of progress without arrogance, reflecting Hergé’s growing humanism.
4. Isolation and Serenity:
   Beneath the waves, Tintin is alone, suspended in silence. These panels evoke the introspective calm of exploration — the beauty of solitude in pursuit of truth.

Character and Emotion

Tintin’s descent reveals his courage and curiosity in their purest form. There is no threat to confront, no moral battle to fight — only the quiet joy of discovery. His wonder at the undersea world, his fascination with relics, and his meticulous observation reveal a gentler, more contemplative side of his character.

Meanwhile, Captain Haddock’s anxious commentary from the surface — fretting over the hose and shouting into the speaking tube — adds humour and warmth, grounding the scene in friendship and humanity.

Hergé often balanced Tintin’s idealism with Haddock’s emotional realism. In these underwater episodes, that balance reaches near perfection.

Technological Fascination

Hergé had a lifelong interest in invention and machinery, and the diving suit — designed by Professor Calculus — is a masterpiece of his imagination. Calculus’s device combines comic eccentricity with plausible engineering, a hallmark of Hergé’s storytelling.

The suit includes a portable air supply and reinforced joints, reflecting mid-century optimism about scientific progress. Tintin’s use of it demonstrates Hergé’s admiration for explorers and inventors who expand human boundaries through intellect and courage.

Artistic Composition

In Red Rackham’s Treasure, Hergé refined his use of the ligne claire (clear line) style to achieve purity and calm. Underwater scenes are composed with wide frames, minimal dialogue, and slow pacing, evoking a cinematic sense of immersion.

Tintin’s small, bright figure contrasts against vast, softly coloured seascapes — coral beds, shipwreck timbers, drifting fish. The effect is one of awe and tranquillity, a visual expression of discovery’s quiet joy.

These panels show Hergé at his most contemplative: every bubble and reflection rendered with balance and rhythm. They anticipate the almost meditative tone of Tintin in Tibet, where silence and purity again define Tintin’s quest.

Thematic Resonance

The diving sequence stands as one of Hergé’s great visual metaphors for Tintin’s role as an explorer of both the world and the human spirit.

• The surface world represents rational inquiry — maps, clues, logic.
• The underwater world represents intuition, imagination, and memory.

Tintin moves effortlessly between the two, suggesting that true understanding requires both intellect and sensitivity — science and soul.

Legacy and Cultural Impact

The image of Tintin in a diving suit has become one of the most iconic in the entire series. It has inspired figurines, cover art, posters, and exhibitions.

It represents Tintin not as a fighter or journalist, but as a seeker — a man defined by curiosity, courage, and calm observation.

Many readers and critics view Red Rackham’s Treasure as the most serene and mature Tintin story, a celebration of discovery without conflict. Tintin’s underwater exploration symbolises that purity of purpose — adventure for its own sake, untouched by greed or violence.

Summary

• Scene: Tintin explores the seabed in a copper diving suit designed by Professor Calculus.
• Story: Red Rackham’s Treasure (1944)
• Companions: Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, Snowy
• Location: Caribbean Sea, near the wreck of the Unicorn
• Themes: Exploration, memory, science, serenity, friendship
• Symbolism: The search for truth beneath the surface; human curiosity untainted by ambition

Conclusion

“Tintin in a diving suit” is more than a charming image — it is a quiet emblem of Hergé’s philosophy. Beneath the sea, Tintin discovers not just treasure, but the spirit of exploration itself: humble, curious, and free of pride.

In these tranquil panels, Hergé achieves a rare union of art and idea — a moment where line, colour, and silence express everything about Tintin’s world. The diving suit becomes a vessel of purity: the hero shielded not by armour, but by curiosity.

It is, quite simply, one of the most poetic moments in the history of the graphic novel.

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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.