Ronald Searle: Strength Through Joy

Strength through joy?

I suppose Ronald Searle did indeed give his drawing of a wicked St. Trinian's girl flipping over her teacher the title of Unarmed Combat—twice, it seems—and that certainly describes the action well enough. But that is not how it appeared in print.

The titles of Searle drawings were generally afterthoughts. In his classic collection Souls in Torment, as promising a name for a cartoon book as one could hope to find in 1953, the present work is one of three drawings under the alternative heading Strength Through Joy.

The term "unarmed combat" actually appears as part of a caption on the page opposite. Thus, grouping these three drawings under an Unarmed Combat heading would have detracted from the caption on the following page. At least, that's a conjecture of what went on, and why Searle abandoned his presumptive title for this drawing when it was published in a book even though it fit perfectly.

The signature appears to be later than 1953 by more than a decade. Searle must have signed it whenever the drawing eventually left his studio.

Ronald Searle's signature

In 1991, this piece was offered by London dealer Chris Beetles. Despite Beetles noting the publishing history, the title he listed is the one that Searle wrote on the work. After all, it is a better title. 

At auction, many a tempting work seems reasonably priced before the bidding gets underway.

Ronald Searle
Chiswick Auctions listing accessed March 21, 2026, ten days before the sale

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/Ronald-Searle-C.B.E.-British,-1920-2011-Unarm-168-c-BEBFCC408C?utm_source=alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=artistalerts&utm_content=378696&utm_term=378696

Ronald Searle
Chiswick Auctions item description

And yet it sells on March 31 at Chiswick Auctions for more than twice the high estimate.

Here it is on the printed page as one of a trio of Strength Through Joy drawings. On the opposite page is "Some little girl didn't hear me say 'unarmed combat'." The captioned cartoon shows an earlier version of Searle's signature.

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T3RcLoQuSZA/TrHj7rZjIFI/AAAAAAAAX7k/-SmvpXssYq0/s1600/Searle11.jpg

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