Ah Yes, I Remember It Well... Paris 1961-1975, Ronald Searle — 1st Ed

Publication: London, Pavilion Books in association with Michael Joseph Limited, 1987

Formatting: 4to, pp. [72].

Condition Report: Near Fine. An exceptionally bright and well-preserved example, tightly bound in the publisher's original glazed pictorial boards. The binding remains entirely square and robust, showing only the most trivial, superficial rubbing to the extreme spine ends and corner tips. Crucially, the white background of the covers is strikingly clean, having successfully resisted the typical dulling, scuffing, or yellowing that frequently afflicts this specific style of binding. The text block edges are crisp and free of toning or spotting. Internally, the volume is pristine; the hinges are flawlessly sound, and the unpaginated leaves are remarkably fresh, clean, and entirely free of foxing, ensuring Searle's intricate line work remains bold and unblemished.

Catalogue Note: First edition thus. While Searle's kinetic and atmospheric sketches of the French capital initially appeared alongside text by Irwin Shaw in the 1977 publication Paris! Paris!, this 1987 Pavilion release marks their first appearance as a standalone, author-curated visual collection.

The volume was issued in glossy, paper-covered pictorial boards without a separate dust jacket, as published, with the original UK retail price printed directly to the lower rear board. The printed dedication 'For Mô' on the preliminary leaf refers to Searle's second wife, Monica, a theatre designer and frequent archivist of his work.

While the trade edition itself is relatively common, copies in such bright, well-preserved condition are notably uncommon on the open market. The white glazed binding is notoriously susceptible to aggressive yellowing, surface scratching, and heavy edge-wear when poorly shelved, making this crisp example highly desirable for collectors of 20th-century satirical illustration.

In Ah Yes, I Remember It Well..., the legendary satirical artist Ronald Searle offers an incisive, witty, and affectionately murky portrait of Paris. Having lived in France for over a quarter of a century, fourteen of those years in the capital, Searle bypasses the polished boulevards of the tourist to capture the true, pulsating life of the cobblestoned backstreets. His laconic pen immortalises the sullen waiters, suspicious concierges, vociferous demonstrators, and bohemian artists that defined post-war Paris. With his signature sharp, energetic linework, Searle preserves a vibrant, slightly dilapidated, and utterly timeless vision of the city, perfectly encapsulating the essence of 1960s and 70s Parisian life.