The Library Collection

These books often contain screen shots paired with narrative text or dialog from the specials. Many of the nearly 50 Peanuts specials and films are represented in this collection, from the first Peanuts animation book,  A Charlie Brown Christmas, published in 1965 by the World Publishing Company to the most recent addition, Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, published in by Kaboom! in 2011.

The Art Book Collection contains Peanuts themed books by Schulz as well as art books by other authors that have a special connection to Schulz or Peanuts. The first Peanuts art book appeared in 1962 when the San Francisco based company, Determined Productions, Inc., published Happiness is a Warm Puppy. That title spent 45 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, reaching all the way to #2! Determined Productions went on to publish many other popular Peanuts art books, as well as other Peanuts products. Some of the Determined Productions art books, including Happiness is a Warm Puppy, were later republished by Twin Vision; these books contain Braille text and raised images.

Books like The Gospel According to Peanuts, by Robert L. Short and Waking Up Just In Time, by Dr. Abraham J. Twerski, feature Peanuts strip reprints throughout in order to bring clarity to the topic at hand. Other books, like Dear President Johnson, by Bill Adler and Kids Say the Darndest Things!, by Art Linkletter use Schulz’s non-Peanuts characters to illustrate the book.  Schulz also made contributions to many books, such as an introduction or preface, recipes for cookbooks, or a single Peanuts strip or illustration for a textbook.

The popularity of the Peanuts comic strip reached around the world and was translated into many languages; at least 33 countries and 26 languages are represented in the Foreign Book Collection including: France, Italy, Japan, China, Canada (English, French), Australia, Great Britain, Spain (Catalan, Spanish), Belgium (Dutch, French, German), Brazil, Poland, Norway, Greece, and Israel (Hebrew). Some countries even use Peanuts to teach English; there are several Japanese books in the collection that use Peanuts strips or characters as tools for learning English.

Holdings of Peanuts books in this collection span from the first Peanuts reprint books published by Rinehart and Co. beginning in 1952, to the very popular Fawcett Crest paperbacks published from the early 1960s through the early 1990s, up to the chronologically organized, multi-volume set, The Complete Peanuts, currently being published by Fantagraphics. Other publishers include: Ballentine, HarperCollins, Topper, Sparkler, and Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Holdings in this collection include The Charlie Brown Dictionary, Charlie Brown’s ‘Cyclopedia (a multi-volume set), and additional multi-volume sets of fact-filled books such as the Snoopy’s Facts & Fun Book series where Snoopy explores modes of transportation and the natural world.  Rounding out the collection are music books (both songbooks and sheet music), activity books, and textbooks such as the series of Snoopy’s Secret Code books, used to teach phonics and reading skills to children.

This collection also includes books about other cartoonists and comic strips that influenced Schulz in some way, as well as cartooning books and books about collecting Peanuts memorabilia.

The Exhibition Catalog collection includes catalogs from both exhibitions mounted at the Charles M. Schulz Museum as well as catalogs from exhibitions around the country (The Graphic Art of Charles Schulz, Oakland Museum of Art, Oakland, California, 1985) and the world (Il Mondo di Snoopy, Rome, Italy, 1992-93).

The Comic Book Collection includes comic books such as Tip Top Comics and Fritzi Ritz in which Peanuts strip reprints appeared from 1952-1957, as well as comic books like Peanuts, Nancy, and Tip Top Comics which started to publish original Peanuts stories rather than only Peanuts strip reprints late 1957 through early 1964. Peanuts fans may be surprised to learn that while Schulz often drew original cover art for the comic books, the original stories were mostly “ghosted” by uncredited artists. The collection also includes comic books that feature parodies of Peanuts, as well as the very newest series of Peanuts comics currently being published by Kaboom!

This collection also includes non-Schulz/Peanuts related magazine publications that were personally owned by Schulz. The holdings include well-known highlights in the legacy of Peanuts, such as achieving the covers of Time in 1965 and LIFE in 1967. Also included are lesser known covers, such as Lucy in a lemonade stand (Ms., 1976), important interviews by cartooning magazines (Nemo, 1992), and original illustrations (World Tennis, 1981-1983).