Ronald Searle's Golden Oldies, 1941-1961

British cartoonist Searle here gathers drawings from earlier books for an overview of 20 years of his career. Much of his humor is macabre, in the manner of Charles Addams (e.g., a sleeping man is walked out of the house by the feet of his old-fashioned bed), or visually witty and surreal, like the art of Saul Steinberg (a man plays his bicycle like a brass instrument; a line of shoppers crowds into a store advertising ""Genuine Reductions'' while other shoppers emerge several feet shorter). Nearly half the book comprises drawings on Searle's most famous subjectSt. Trinian's, the girls' school populated by creatures who poison, hang and stretch on racks their classmates and teachers, as well as smoke pot, drink scotch and perform other unladylike activities. (Searle's cartoons inspired a series of films about the fictional school.) Some of the ``naughty'' St. Trinian's humor may seem dated, or simply too rarefied for American readers; but Searle is undeniably a clever, sometimes scathing artist. (April 1)