4 Wit and Indigestion
CARTOON TREASURY. Edited by Lucy Black Johnson and PY131 Johnson, Jr. (Collins, 25s.) MERRY ENGLAND, ETC. By Ronald Searle. (Perpetua, 15s.) PRIVATE VIEWS. By Osbert Lancaster. (Gryphon, 5s.) THE Cartoon Treasury confidently describes itself on its jacket as 'A collection of the world's funniest cartoons,' and when it as discovered that the editors have indeed gone as far afield is Japan, India and Brazil in their quest for humour, one feet', justified in expecting to be presented with a 'real bumper cr°sre , yet the results are rather disappointing. The trouble is that theof ' are not, for my money, the world's funniest cartoons. Many to the artists include ones totally unknown to this reviewer, andfcir ti cannot say whether these drawings are representative of I",,nc best efforts or not; on the whole one hopes not. But those oar does know, the English, American, 'Canadian, French, and one ve two of the Italians, have all done many funnier cartoons, as 4, 113
several other cartoonists of those countries not represented at " The other complaint I have to make is that the presentation is stodgy and unimaginative, the guiding principle being to cram as many jokes as possible into the 320 pages, so that it is impos- sible to look through more than a few of them without being in turn stupefied, surfeited, and attacked by indigestion.
Merry England, etc. is another of Mr. Ronald Searle's perennial collections which, like its predecessors, bears the fine free stamp of authority. The book itself is beautifully produced, and the drawings excellently laid out, so that one is able to savour each one to the full. However, it has always seemed to me that Mr. Searle is more of an artist than a humorist, that his drawings seem to come with great ease, and his jokes with some difficulty. This collection seethes with ferocious pictorial satire, but only occasionally shows glimpses of that piercing, simple and irresistible humour that informs the best work of the con- temporary American cartoonists. He is at his best when his Considerable artistic talent is given its fullest scope; his attempts at simple jokes are inclined to be overloaded and repetitive, and lately is more in his element pursuing the lines of satire that have tately been seen in Punch.
Chips off a Shoulder is a collection of quiet, sardonic jokes by Punch's Australian artist Sprod. It was startling to read in the Preface that these cartoons elicit, from the editor of Punch, loud, outward, earthy laughter. A wry chuckle would seem to be more la keeping with their character. You've Got Me in a Hole is a tedious book for anyone who is hot a golf fan. Frank Reynolds was the greatest of golf cartoonists, for he knew how to exploit all the absurd positions that people take up in playing the game; too few of the jokes in this book are anything more than mere corn in the clubhouse. &fen at Work, The Hofnung Music Festival, and Private Views are each in their different way excellent. Chaval. the Frenchman responsible for Men at Work, has a pungent style and humour that exactly suit each other; Hoffnung has an uproarious time Plunging about his happy, daft, musical world; and Osbert Lan- caster smoothly presents another collection of his unerring, rapier-sharp thrusts,' quips and comments. JACK SCHWAB
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