Médisances is Ronald Searle's 1953 cartoon collection published for the French market. It is marketed as "Humour anglais" and presents Searle's postwar British black comedy with French captions. There is a generous helping of St. Trinian's cartoons depicting Searle's murderously wicked schoolgirls who proved so wildly popular in England.
For Valentine's Day of 1962, Searle embellished a copy of the book with a full-page ink and wash drawing of a St. Trinian's girl holding a shedding floral bouquet and a wine bottle. It is inscribed to Marcelle, whom I take to be Marcelle Methlin, the proprietor of the Restaurant des Beaux-Arts on the Left Bank of the Seine. Searle and his girlfriend Monica Koenig, later his second wife, found an artistic and culinary home in Methlin's establishment. Searle was poor in cash but rich in gratitude this February, when he also gave Methlin a personalized copy of his new English-language book Which Way Did He Go? seen in yesterday's post.
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| Ronald Searle eBay listing ended September 24, 2023 |
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| Ronald Searle eBay item description |
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| Offer of 1,610 Euros accepted |
Note: I've never seen this book before; it scarcely crosses the English Channel, let alone the Atlantic. Regardless, this copy easily qualifies as a "best copy" in that it has one of the most elaborate original St. Trinian's drawings in any Searle book I've come across. I don't know whether I've mentioned it before, but Attempted Bloggery is always eager to show outstanding copies of books by Ronald Searle, including those difficult to define but easy to recognize "best copies." Your submissions are encouraged.
"Bohème," as I mentioned yesterday, is Matt Jones's 2014 post on the Ronald Searle Tribute blog concerning the in-crowd at the Restaurant des Beaux-Arts. Check out Searle's menu design for the place.
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