Ronald Searle in Perspective: The Limited Edition

Ronald Searle in Perspective is a 1984 retrospective collection of the cartoonist's work. The British public, apparently, was offered a deluxe limited edition, slipcased and bound in black leather with gilt lettering. If you were an American, you probably didn't hear about it. The book was signed and included an original Searle lithograph, An Angel Passed..., in an edition of 250.

Hamburg, St. Pauli (1967)

An Angel Passed. . . (1983)
No. 62/250
Ronald Searle

Ronald Searle
AbeBooks listing accessed February 27, 2023

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31428526412&searchurl=an%3Dsearle%2Bronald%26sgnd%3Don%26sortby%3D100%26tn%3Dperspective&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title3

Note:  Readers interested in the cat lithograph may also take a look at my related post "Ronald Searle:  Cats Under the Rainbow."

For more about Ronald Searle in St. Pauli, see Matt Jones's 2013 Perpetua post "Kabarett!"

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #839

It looks like The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #839 from the issue of February 27, 2022, in the side pocket. My caption is shown below. The drawing is by Felipe Galindo, known throughout the universe as Feggo.

"Who took away Pluto?"

March 12, 2023 Update:  The Finalists

March 13, 2023 Update:  How could I not vote for the Pluto caption?

March 26, 2023 Update:  The Winner

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Ronald Searle: A New Yorker Cover Study

It should be no surprise that auction houses often don't know all the history of the works they're selling. In 2004, for example, Bonhams London sold a floral watercolor by Ronald Searle, identifying it only by the assumed title Posy. While the vase is oddly situated, hanging precariously over the corner of a table, its humorous or satiric intent may not be obvious. New Bond Street may have been at a geographic disadvantage here. On the other side of the Atlantic, some New Yorker readers may have recognized the subject matter of this piece: the painting is obviously a study for Searle's magazine cover of June 5, 1989. It's not a rough, strictly speaking, in that the artist is working through some important components of his composition but not the entire thing.

Ronald Searle
Bonhams London, New Bond Street listing of October 12, 2004

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/11229/lot/185/ww.bonhams.com/auctions/11229/lot/185/

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1989-06-05/flipbook/CV1/

Searle's study, on closer inspection, is dated 1989, the year of the cover, not 1985. The prominent diagonal flourish is a part of Searle's signature, not of his date. (And any numeral seven, had he written it, would generally have a line through it.)

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Warren Miller: Couples Therapy

The auction house Millea Bros., Ltd., is correct: the original cartoon art by Warren Miller of his-and-hers psychotherapists sharing a love seat was indeed published in The New Yorker—how could the editors have passed it up? Here are the auction details from yesterday's sale with The New Yorker information amended.

Warren Miller
Original art
The New Yorker, August 15, 1988, p. 34

Warren Miller
Original art
The New Yorker, August 15, 1988, p. 34

Detail

Warren Miller's signature and dedication to Dr. Eleanor Townsend

Crack

The presale estimate was a very reasonable $100 to $150.

Warren Miller
Millea Bros., Ltd., auction listing accessed February 5, 2023

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/Warren-Miller,-original-New-Yorker-cartoon-3141-c-F4D4B9FA07?utm_source=alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=keywordalerts&utm_content=173903

The hammer price was $350.

Here's how the drawing looked when it first appeared in The New Yorker:

Warren Miller
Original art
The New Yorker, August 15, 1988, p. 34

Cartoons by Warren Miller and Jack Ziegler

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1988-08-15/flipbook/034/

Jack Ziegler

Note:  Psychiatrist Dr. Eleanor Townsend's 2015 obituary from the Times may be seen here. She is almost certainly original recipient of this drawing.

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Ronald Searle in Le Monde: The Limited Edition

I've been tracking the price of rare books by cartoonist Ronald Searle for a number of years now. Lately, I'm starting to see some evidence that prices may be retreating a bit some eleven years after his passing. A limited edition copy of Ronald Searle in Le Monde, for example, one of two hundred signed by the artist, was recently offered at 50 GBP, an excellent price. The collection of political illustrations was published in 2002, but Searle's cover illustration, at the very least, doesn't seem to have lost any of its bite.

Ronald Searle
AbeBooks listing accessed January 31, 2023

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31410396620&searchurl=an%3Dsearle%2Bronald%26sgnd%3Don%26sortby%3D100%26tn%3Dmonde&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title1

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Whitney Darrow, Jr.: Mother of the Month

A work of vintage, original cartoon art from The New Yorker is available on Etsy priced at $1,500. The artist, Whitney Darrow, Jr., shows us one make-believe mom without her pedestal. The year was 1956 and New Yorker readers were treated to a different view of the American family than they were seeing on television:

"There's a very interesting story there. She was voted Mother of the Month up in the States a couple of years ago and given a ten-day, all-expense trip down here."
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Framed original art
The New Yorker, January 7, 1956, p. 17

Darrow uses light, shade, and perspective to lead our eyes to the former Mother of the Month. The single light bulb illuminates her face and arms with considerable contrast. The perspective lines of the bar lead directly to her. The man at the bar focuses on her, and we follow his gaze. His nose is practically a pointer, but the bold lines of his left thigh, the gentle shading of his midback, and the curve of his shoulders all lead us to her as well.

"There's a very interesting story there. She was voted Mother of the Month up in the States a couple of years ago and given a ten-day, all-expense trip down here."
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Original art
The New Yorker, January 7, 1956, p. 17

Typewritten caption

Detail

Detail

Detail

Detail

The signature of Whitney Darrow, Jr.

Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Etsy listing accessed February 21, 2023

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1185632468/whitney-darrow-jr-original-charcoal-ink?ga_order=price_desc&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=New+Yorker&ref=sr_gallery-1-22&frs=1&sts=1&organic_search_click=1

"There's a very interesting story there. She was voted Mother of the Month up in the States a couple of years ago and given a ten-day, all-expense trip down here."
Whitney Darrow, Jr.
Original art
The New Yorker, January 7, 1956, p. 17

 

A spot drawing by Henry Martin and a cartoon by Whitney Darrow, Jr.

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1956-01-07/flipbook/016/

Henry Martin

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