Peanuts Are King at Heritage!

DALLAS, TEXAS: When discussing the history of the American comic strip, certain names are bound to come up: Richard Felton Outcault, whose Hogan's Alley panels inaugurated the form; Winsor McCay, whose unmatched dreamscapes in Little Nemo in Slumberland still stand as a high-watermark of the cartoonist's art; Walt Kelly, who effortlessly blended biting social satire with zany humor in Pogo; and Garry Trudeau, whose based-on-the-headlines Doonesbury became as much at home on the editorial page as it was on the comics page.

However, in any discussion of significant American cartoonists, there is one name that stands head and shoulders above his peers, a humble artist whose influence on American pop culture cannot be overstated, a gentle man whose wit and wisdom shone through every single panel he drew.

His name? Charles Schulz, the creator of Charlie Brown and Peanuts.

Born out of an earlier strip entitled Li'l Folks, which ran in the St. Paul Pioneer Press from 1947 to 1949, Peanuts made its debut on October 2, 1950 in a mere seven newspapers (rumor has it that Schulz never liked the name Peanuts, which was forced upon him by editorial fiat), although it would eventually appear in more than 2,600 papers worldwide, with a readership of more than 350 million people. It became the most influential comic strip of the latter half of the 20th century, inspiring TV shows, movies, book collections, lunchboxes, toys, and a host of licensed products.

"Original Peanuts art has always been highly sought after," said Ed Jaster, Vice-President of Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, "even more so since Schulz's untimely death in 2000. While it's not unusual to find one of these desirable pieces in a Heritage auction, the fact that we have five prime examples in our upcoming event is a significant achievement."

"The earliest example in our upcoming auction is a daily strip from 1951, just a little over a year past the feature's debut," Jaster said. "In this example, we see the early form Charlie Brown, sporting a rounder, more child-like look than he would later acquire. These pieces, easily identifiable as coming from Peanuts' early years, are particularly sought by collectors."

"Another beauty is the 1962 Sunday we're offering," Jaster said. "Here we see Snoopy, perched atop his doghouse, practicing for an Olympic diving career. Snoopy-centric strips are always popular, and this particular piece certainly displays runaway potential."

"The 1964 Sunday we're offering features the always-popular baseball theme," Jaster said, "with Charlie Brown as the erstwhile pitcher and Lucy as the easily distracted center fielder. Schulz must have been a huge baseball fan, as America's pastime figures prominently in some of the most popular Peanuts strips."

"Spanning the gamut of Peanut's history," Jaster continued, "we're also offering two pieces from a more contemporary period; a daily from 1970 featuring Schroeder and a love-struck Lucy, and a Sunday page from 1982 that spotlights Snoopy and Linus."

"This is an excellent opportunity for any of Charles Schulz's legion of fans to acquire a classic piece of artwork from the pen of a true master," Jaster added. "I'd urge any interested parties to visit our website at www.HeritageAuctions.com/Comics and place your bids as early as possible, as these may well be some of the most hotly contested items in our auction."

Charles Schulz - Peanuts Daily Comic Strip Original Art, dated 11-5-51 (United Feature Syndicate, 1951)
Estimate: $20,000 & up

Charles Schulz - Peanuts Sunday Comic Strip Original Art, dated 9-23-62 (United Feature Syndicate, 1962)
Estimate: $25,000 & up

Charles Schulz - Peanuts Sunday Comic Strip Original Art, dated 6-28-64 (United Feature Syndicate, 1964)
Estimate: $25,000 & up

Charles Schulz - Peanuts Daily Comic Strip Original Art, dated 5-29-70 (United Feature Syndicate, 1970)
Estimate: $7,000 & up

Charles Schulz - Peanuts Sunday Comic Strip Original Art, dated 10-17-82 (United Features Syndicate, 1982)
Estimate: $20,000 & up

The above pieces of Peanuts original art will be offered in Heritage Auction Galleries' upcoming Comics Signature Auction, to be held August 10 -12, 2006 in Dallas, Texas. For more information, please visit www.HeritageAuctions.com/Comics.

For more information about Heritage's auctions, and a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HeritageAuctions.com.

Heritage specializes in rare, high-grade comic books, as well as vintage comic and animation art, illustration art, classic toys, movie posters and comics-related collectibles.

Prospective consignors and sellers of top-end comics material, toys, and original art are invited to call Ed Jaster at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 288 or Lon Allen at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 261 to discuss their rare comics and original illustration and comic art. Or visit www.HeritageAuctions.com and click on the "Sell Now" tab. Or simply email Ed Jaster at EdJ@HeritageAuctions.com or Lon Allen at LonA@HeritageAuctions.com.

Music and Hollywood memorabilia collectors should contact Doug Norwine at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 452 or email DougN@HeritageAuctions.com.

Movie poster consignors please call Grey Smith at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 367 or email GreySm@HeritageAuctions.com.

To reserve your copy of a catalog for any upcoming Heritage auction, please contact Nicole Jewell, c/o Heritage Auction Galleries, 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX 75219, or call 1-800-872-6467, ext. 272.