1978, France. GEORGE CRUIKSHANK, Caricaturist.By Ronald Searle. Plated-copper 95mm. No. 22 of an edition of 100 published by Club Français de la Médaille. $125. Sorry, SOLD (March, 2024)

Ronald William Fordham Searle was born in Cambridge on March 3, 1920. He is best known as a satirical cartoonist and illustrator, and for being the creator of St. Trinian’s School. He started creating medals long after he had established his reputation. Searle started drawing at the age of five and left school at the age of 15. He trained at Cambridge College of Arts and Technology (now Anglia Ruskin University). In 1939 he enlisted in the army. In 1942 he was stationed in Singapore. He fought in Malaya and was taken prisoner. Searle was moved to the Kwai Jungle, where he worked on the “Death Railway.” He suffered considerably during his imprisonment, contracting beri-beri and malaria, and was subjected to beatings. His weight dropped to under 90 pounds. During his captivity he made drawings that documented the atrocities he observed. He kept them hidden. About 300 survived the war. They are documented in a book published in 1986. The originals are in the collection of the Imperial War Museum. After the War, Searle served as a courtroom artist at the Nuremberg trials. During the 1950s he produced an extraordinary amount of work, which was published in many leading publications, including Punch and the New Yorker. In 1961 he moved to Paris. He died on December 30, 2011 in Provence.