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This time we were privileged to be permitted access to the inner sanctum of chéz Searle. Few are allowed to see his studio & study but his work & sketchbooks were due to be shipped off to the Wilhelm Busch museum in Hanover where his archive is held. Ronald gave us a real treat & let us look at anything we fancied-he really is the most generous 'world's greatest living cartoonist' that I know!
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Of course Ronald's collection of his own books is incomparable-he has all editions (plus proof/copy versions)in mint condition. There were several that I'd never even heard of.
Seeing the 'top-shelf' was nirvana for these dedicated Searle fans-a lifetime of sketchbooks! Last time we browsed his Scrooge and Monte-Carlo books but here were the rest-Morocco, Palm Springs, Hawaii, Dublin, Germany-all the original notes & drawings Searle made for the HOLIDAY magazine reportage.
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It was all we could do to flip through as many as possible, Searle graciously letting us photograph anything we wanted. Naturally we couldn't get everything-between carrying on the conversation with Ronald and Monica, climbing up & down the step-ladder & the effects of the champagne-it was tough to focus! I'll be putting the rest of the photos up on the Searle blog soon.
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Monica too has her own collection of her husband's work & was very pleased to share with us her 'Mrs Mole' drawings. A special series of over 40 pictures that Ronald made for her every time she was ill. She would always awake to find another depiction of a day in the life of Mrs Mole- Monica herself in fact-easing the misery of her illness.
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12 comments:
I'm speechless. Wow.
agreed. Wow. what an amazing opportunity. You have it tough man, traveling to speak about him and getting a day to chat and reminisce about his career, tough. :P
Great visit! It's really stunning to see such first-rate unpublished work!
The finest of all your Searle reporting.
Marvelous!
Wonderful!
d
great works
nice
Great post , thanks for sharing.
So wonderful -- thanks. I've been a fan since childhood, when my brothers and sisters and I would sit and cackle over How To Be Topp and the other Molesworth books.
Thanks, Matt. I´ve linked to your Searle series here
http://www.4ojos.com/blog/?p=2934
OMG WOW! That's too cool.
Wow! Amazing stuff. I can only imagine how overwhelmed I would be. So much epic Searle work. I can't believe that one Saturday is close to enough!
Yeah-one afternoon is precious time-I wish we had longer.
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