I just love this book!
Although I do have a couple of books signed by James Thurber (which may turn up here, one day!), this copy of his enchanting fables, The 13 Clocks & The Wonderful O, is signed by its no less distinguished illustrator –– Ronald Searle.
In order to understand Searle's inscription, you will first need to read the letter I wrote to the artist and which accompanied the book when I entrusted it to my two friends, Matt Jones and Uli Myer, who, in 2010, were going to visit Searle in France...
Here, then – in his unmistakable, spidery hand – is Ronald Searle's delightful inscription...
1 comment:
One of my very favorite books, Brian, and I have that very same Puffin edition. How wonderful to have Ronald Searle's own inscription and autograph! I can't imagine the text without his illustrations. In The Thirteen Clocks the threat of slitting someone from "the guggle to the zatch" is still suggestively terrifying, and I think it was my first introduction to camellias. And The Wonderful O is a chilling fable reminding us of how much more is lost when our words are taken away from us.
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