Welcome to a rarely-seen, unintentionally hidden, look at the pillars of Peanuts.

Each segment of this exhibition offers a fresh look at the foundational themes of Peanuts. Charles M. Schulz acknowledged these themes in a 1988 interview; his initial list included ideas such as Lucy’s psychiatric booth and playing baseball. Schulz expanded on these ideas in later interviews and writings, giving readers a fascinating look at the strip from the creator’s point of view.

This collection of Peanuts strips is unique because they are not only original works of art, but until recently, had also never been exhibited. Many simply because there are so many rich examples of a given subject within the Museum’s collection of nearly 8,000 original Peanuts strips. Others because they have been too delicate to display but are now safely conserved. And some because they are new to the collection. No matter the reason, each strip gives readers a fresh look at the beloved themes that set Peanuts apart from others on the comic page.

Many of the strips in each section are from the same running series and provide a special look at sequential storylines that perhaps have not been seen together since leaving Schulz’s drawing board years ago. Other selections are only loosely connected by underlying themes. Look for original dates of publication of each strip as you scroll down to enjoy the exhibition.

“Curse you, Red Baron!”

Snoopy as the World War I Flying Ace climbs atop his doghouse to pilot his Sopwith Camel, in pursuit of the infamous Red Baron. Though never pictured in the strip, the Red Baron certainly has a presence. First mentioned in October 1965, the Red Baron was featured in dozens of strips. A professional respect snuck in during the later years, at least from the intrepid Flying Ace.

”I’m not sure how Snoopy got on top of the doghouse, but I’m glad he did, because it opened up whole new areas of fantasy for me.”  —Charles M. Schulz

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
April 28, 1988
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
April 30, 1988
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
May 2, 1988
Ink on paper

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Alexis E. Fajardo (Editorial Director, Schulz Creative Associates); Jean Schulz (wife of Charles M. Schulz); and Benjamin L. Clark (Museum Curator).

Anatomy of a Comic Strip: The Peanuts strip below was designed to be published in the Sunday paper, which called for a larger format than the four-panel daily strips. Sunday strips were designed to include the top third of a strip as “throw-away panels.” Depending upon the amount of space each newspaper has for its Sunday comics, they might print only the bottom two-thirds of a strip. Thus, the top third must relate to the rest of the strip but is not integral to the story.

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
May 17, 1992
Ink on paper

From the Archives: Charles Schulz heard from many fans of the Flying Ace, including real veterans of the skies of World War I, who were kind enough to write him and share stories of their experiences and hard-won knowledge to make details more accurate, something that was very important to Schulz.

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Letter from Arch Whitehouse
to Charles M. Schulz
June 20, 1967

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Alexis E. Fajardo (Editorial Director, Schulz Creative Associates); Benjamin L. Clark (Museum Curator); Justin Thompson (Senior Artist, Schulz Creative Associates); and Jean Schulz (wife of Charles M. Schulz).

Fun Fact!: The beloved storylines and characters of Peanuts have inspired innumerable objects, leaping from the pages of the newspapers into becoming licensed toys, art, keepsakes, and animation for the small and silver screens. In this exhibit, you will see a selection of the objects made for fans to enjoy, paired with the classic themes presented in comic strips.

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Limited Edition “Peanuts Magical Moments” Collection
Decorative Plate, 1988
Porcelain trimmed with 23kt gold

Snoopy

Originally silent but always expressive, Snoopy developed an ever-larger presence in Peanuts. From the sweet puppy of early days to an older, worldlier pup, Snoopy is full of adventurous experiences but he still enjoys settling in with a good book. Snoopy owns several books written by Miss Helen Sweetstory. His love for his favorite author is one many readers can identify with, and perhaps gives readers a glimpse of how Schulz himself felt about fan mail. Snoopy’s devotion to Miss Sweetstory cannot be shaken, at least until he makes a devastating discovery.

The following comic strips are from the original series published in newspapers April 8–24, 1971.

Inside the Strip: Charles Schulz would reference real places, like Anderson, Indiana, that had special meaning to him. Anderson is the home of several Church of God organizations to which Schulz contributed, like Anderson College and Warner Press. Anderson College acknowledged his contributions to literature with an honorary doctorate in humane letters in 1963.

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
April 13, 1971
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
April 15, 1971
Ink on paper

“The closest I come to worrying about not being able to think of anything, is never again being able to come up with one of these grand themes on which I can play variations then for months or sometimes years to come—that I will never again think of a Linus blanket or a Red Baron … that I’ll just have to continually … rehash the things that I’ve done, … you can deliberately sit down and write daily comic strip gags—but you cannot force these wonderful themes that will last.”
—Charles M. Schulz

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
April 16, 1971
Ink on paper

Anatomy of a Comic Strip: Do you see the crease down the center of the comic strip below? Once Schulz completed several four-panel daily Peanuts strips, they were folded in half to fit inside of a large envelope and mailed to United Feature Syndicate in New York for publication. Often you will see the crease down the center of original daily strips because of this mailing process.

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
April 22, 1971
Ink on paper

Snoopy’s Doghouse

Arguably Snoopy’s doghouse evolves every bit as much as he does over the course of 50 years in Peanuts. Since first climbing atop of it in 1958, Snoopy and his adventures quite literally take off! As the embattled Fort Zinderneuf, Joe Cool’s Student Union, or perhaps most famously as a bullet-riddled Sopwith Camel, Snoopy’s doghouse could be anything. As Schulz himself acknowledged, Snoopy is so much more than a dog. Of course, he needs something that is so much more than a simple doghouse.

The following comic strips are from the original series published in newspapers May 19–24, 1975.

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
May 19, 1975
Ink on paper

Fun Fact!: How does the Museum acquire original comic strips?

Later in Schulz’s career, United Features Syndicate would return original Peanuts drawings to Schulz after publishing them in newspapers. He kept some but often generously gave original strips away when requested. So, many thousands of strips went out into the world. Today, they come home to the Schulz Museum as gifts, donations, and sometimes as Museum purchases. The Museum actively collects art and artifacts that help tell the complete story of Schulz’s life and career.

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
May 21, 1975
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
May 22, 1975
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
May 23, 1975
Ink on paper

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Aviva
Snoopy Revolving Music Box
Plays “Impossible Dream”
1982
Ceramic and plastic

Woodstock

Woodstock is Snoopy’s friend of friends and loyal to the core. But he also has interests outside of Snoopy’s activities. In these comic strips, Woodstock tries his hand at farming, though he’s landed himself in a property line dispute with Lucy. The situation is unenviable but at least the reliable county surveyor is available to resolve the conflict.

The following comic strips are from the original series published in newspapers June 2–June 22, 1979.

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
June 4, 1979
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
June 16, 1979
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
June 19, 1979
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
June 21, 1979
Ink on paper

Security Blanket

Linus’s security blanket is a source of comfort much to the annoyance of more practical sorts, like his sister Lucy, his grandmother, and even Snoopy. As Linus develops into a wise and well-spoken character, his blanket keeps him from becoming an obnoxious know-it-all, providing a funny juxtaposition of clinging to childish things yet expounding at length on philosophy, ethics, and science. But just when Linus believes he’s kicked the blanket habit, and thinks he can help others, Lucy one ups him with a Biblical quote.

The following comic strips are from the original series published in newspapers April 11–June 23, 1983.

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
April 13, 1983
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
April 18, 1983
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
April 19, 1983
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
April 23, 1983
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
February 25, 1996 
Ink on paper

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Jean Schulz (wife of Charles M. Schulz); Alexis E. Fajardo (Editorial Director, Schulz Creative Associates); and Benjamin L. Clark (Museum Curator).

Lucy’s Psychiatric Booth

Within the first two weeks of Peanuts, beginning in 1950, Charles Schulz adapted the classic comic trope of the neighborhood lemonade stand, a standard in comic strips featuring kids. But it was not until 1959 when Schulz’s opinionated and judgmental Lucy finally tacks up her sign to say, “The Doctor Is In,” and offers her advice for 5¢, speaking to a time when more people began to seek help with mental health and talk more openly about it.

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
June 25, 1965
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
October 4, 1985
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
March 9, 1989
Ink on paper

Fun Fact!: Charles Schulz was commonly known to gift or donate original comic strips throughout his career. Often, he would warmly inscribe a strip to its recipient.

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
July 31, 1993
Ink on paper

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Alexis E. Fajardo (Editorial Director, Schulz Creative Associates); Benjamin L. Clark (Museum Curator); and Jean Schulz (wife of Charles M. Schulz).

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Determined Productions, Inc.
“Even My Anxieties Have Anxieties” figurescene, 1971
Papier­ mache and paint

Baseball

Playing baseball in his neighborhood all summer was a beloved childhood memory for Schulz. Whenever Lucy yells, “Hey, Manager!” from center field, you know it’s bad news for Good ol’ Charlie Brown. Though she may have “respect for the office,” she still thinks he’s the neighborhood blockhead. Schulz observed that baseball has a natural rhythm conducive to conversations between players. His other favorite game, hockey, is far too fast paced for much chatter.

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Jean Schulz (wife of Charles M. Schulz).

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
April 12, 1953
Ink on paper

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Alexis E. Fajardo (Editorial Director, Schulz Creative Associates); Justin Thompson (Senior Artist, Schulz Creative Associates); Benjamin L. Clark (Museum Curator); and Jean Schulz (wife of Charles M. Schulz).

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
March 10, 1972
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
June 19, 1974
Ink on paper

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Alexis E. Fajardo (Editorial Director, Schulz Creative Associates).

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
June 21, 1974
Ink on paper

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Benjamin L. Clark (Museum Curator); and Alexis E. Fajardo (Editorial Director, Schulz Creative Associates).

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
April 13, 1985
Ink on paper

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Alexis E. Fajardo (Editorial Director, Schulz Creative Associates).

“I could draw baseball strips every day; it really is funny. It just works better than any other sport. Baseball is ideal because little kids do play at that age. And they aren’t very good. But they do suffer at it.” —Charles M. Schulz

Football

Football-themed strips appear in season with the leaves changing color and cooling temperatures. And of course, autumn in Sonoma County is the beginning of the rainy season. None of that can dampen the competitive spirit of Peppermint Patty as she lines up across from her friends for a game of football. These strips feature a muddiness not typically found in Schulz’s famous “rainy” strips. See more strips featuring rain later in this exhibition.

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Justin Thompson (Senior Artist, Schulz Creative Associates); Jean Schulz (wife of Charles M. Schulz);  Alexis E. Fajardo (Editorial Director, Schulz Creative Associates); and Benjamin L. Clark (Museum Curator).

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
December 6, 1993
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
December 8, 1993
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
December 11, 1993
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
November 24, 1995
Ink on paper

School

Becoming depressed, the neighborhood school building once collapsed in the night sending the Peanuts Gang across town to another school. Charlie Brown ends up sharing a desk with Peppermint Patty for the next six weeks in the comic strip. Forcing the two characters into such proximity generated many ideas for Schulz, demonstrating the power of having a truly great repertory company and a familiar setting almost any reader would recognize.

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
January 13, 1976
Ink on paper

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Justin Thompson (Senior Artist, Schulz Creative Associates); Benjamin L. Clark (Museum Curator); and Jean Schulz (wife of Charles M. Schulz).

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
January 17, 1976
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
January 28, 1976
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
January 31, 1976
Ink on paper

Rain

Sometimes funny, sometimes tremendously sad, when it rains in Peanuts, it pours. One of Schulz’s more masterful technical achievements throughout Peanuts is his rendering of rain. He took great pride in his ability to make the extremely fine lines necessary. Early on in his career, he and his fellow teachers at Art Instruction would try to outdo one another in this practice, drawing ever finer and finer lines. His technique is still studied today by cartoonists.

Anatomy of a Comic Strip: Did you notice the title on the strip below has discolored differently than the rest of the strip? This is because the title was created separately and pasted onto the completed comic strip. The difference in discoloration is due to the type of paper and glue used, and different environmental exposures over the life of the strip.

In the early 1950s, Schulz drew titles and panels directly onto his comic strips, but by the mid-1950s he began to use pre-printed templates. Titles for the four-panel daily comics were printed onto the templates, while Sunday titles were cut out and pasted to the strip. This was done to save time and helped to keep the look consistent from strip to strip.

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
April 26, 1970
Ink on paper

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Jean Schulz (wife of Charles M. Schulz); Justin Thompson (Senior Artist, Schulz Creative Associates); Alexis E. Fajardo (Editorial Director, Schulz Creative Associates); and Benjamin L. Clark (Museum Curator).

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
January 21, 1984
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
February 18, 1986
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
February 14, 1996
Ink on paper

Anatomy of a Comic Strip: Zip-a-Tone was a brand of the graphic tool screentone that Schulz sometimes used to add shading and dimension to his strip. In the landscape of the strips here, you see a transparent adhesive film covered with patterns of dots applied to the artwork—this is Zip-a-Tone and it was used to produce gray tones. Zip-a-Tone sheets came in several different patterns. The adhesive film was placed over the portion of the strip to be shaded and the remainder of the film was cut off with an artist’s knife. Today cartoonists employ computer software to achieve the same effect.

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
February 16, 1996
Ink on paper

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Determined Productions, Inc.
Hat Series, Coin Bank, 1979
Ceramic and paint

The Wall

It seems every member of the Peanuts Gang eventually finds their way to lean against the wall and contemplate life’s mysteries. Early on, characters would sit on the curb like the kids featured in a comic strip Schulz read growing up by Percy Crosby called Skippy. As Schulz got older, and had kids of his own, his characters moved from the curb, to the sidewalk, to the front stoop, and finally, behind a low wall and out of harm’s way. Schulz disliked being referred to as the father of his characters, but he no doubt felt protective of his creations.

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Alexis E. Fajardo (Editorial Director, Schulz Creative Associates); Jean Schulz (wife of Charles M. Schulz); and Benjamin L. Clark (Museum Curator).

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
February 6, 1974
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
March 5, 1974
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
August 30, 1991
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
February 19, 1996
Ink on paper

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Danbury Mint
Peanuts Classic Moments Figure, Charlie Brown and Linus Standing at the Wall, 1993
Resin

Unrequited Love

Whether it’s Charlie Brown’s empty mailbox on Valentine’s Day, Lucy trying to convince Schroeder he’s in love with her, or one of several other instances of unrequited love, feelings go astray in Peanuts just as they do in real life. Charles Schulz drew upon his own life experiences to create several reoccurring plots focused on lost love, but he also knew there is something funny in the universal and plaintive experience of heartbreak.

“There’s something funny about unrequited love,” Schulz said, “I suppose it’s because we can all identify with it.”

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
January 12, 1979
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
April 12, 1979
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
February 14, 1984
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
February 13, 1987
Ink on paper

The Great Pumpkin

Since October 1959, the Great Pumpkin has visited sincere pumpkin patches around the world to leave toys for good boys and girls. At least, according to Linus, he does. His friends doubt him but every so often some are willing to take a chance. After all, how can someone so persistent and sincere be wrong?

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Alexis E. Fajardo (Editorial Director, Schulz Creative Associates); Justin Thompson (Senior Artist, Schulz Creative Associates); Benjamin L. Clark (Museum Curator); and Jean Schulz (wife of Charles M. Schulz).

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
October 23, 1975
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
October 24, 1975
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
October 25, 1975
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
October 31, 1975
Ink on paper

I know I was drawing some Halloween strips about Linus, who is bright but very innocent, and he was confusing Halloween with Christmas because he was one holiday ahead of himself. Now the whole thing has become a parody of Christmas, and Linus gives the Great Pumpkin those qualities Santa Claus is supposed to have.”  —Charles M. Schulz

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
October 31, 1999
Ink on paper

Fun Fact!: The animation cels presented here are authorized licensed reproductions, made by Melendez studios, of original scenes from the specials. They are printed in limited editions for retail sale. Typically, animation cels were re-used, wiped off and painted over, to save on cost and materials. For this reason, it is difficult to have a fully representative collection of original cels. These limited editions, created by the original studio that produced all of the Peanuts specials, help to round out the Museum’s collection.

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Bill Melendez Productions, Inc./
Lee Mendelson Productions
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
Animation cel, Limited Edition Reproduction, 2006
Acetate, paper, and paint

©2006 Peanuts Worldwide LLC; Bill Melendez Productions, Inc.; Lee Mendelson Productions

This limited-edition reproduction animation cel was recreated from scene 43A ‘Welcome Great Pumpkin’ in 2006 from original animation line drawing produced at Bill Melendez Productions Studio.

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Bill Melendez Productions, Inc.
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
Animation cel, Limited Edition Reproduction, 2016
Acetate, paper, and paint

©2016 Peanuts Worldwide LLC; Bill Melendez Productions, Inc.; Lee Mendelson Productions

This limited-edition reproduction animation cel commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the animated special, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!, which originally aired on CBS in 1966. This cel depicts Snoopy as the Flying Ace lying on top of a haystack with a full moon and night sky in the background.

Holidays

Christmas is a special time for family, friends, and gift-giving but beyond the glitter, the holidays bring their own stress and worry, unless of course, you’re a dog.

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Alexis E. Fajardo (Editorial Director, Schulz Creative Associates); Jean Schulz (wife of Charles M. Schulz); and Benjamin L. Clark (Museum Curator).

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
November 15, 1976
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
November 20, 1976
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
November 21, 1997
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
November 22, 1997
Ink on paper

Schroeder’s Music

No one embodies the love of music within Peanuts like Schroeder. In dozens of strips, Schroeder performs famous passages of classical music. Schulz had a passion for music, but not only for classical, though that is what appears most frequently in Peanuts.

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Alexis E. Fajardo (Editorial Director, Schulz Creative Associates); and Benjamin L. Clark (Museum Curator); Justin Thompson (Senior Artist, Schulz Creative Associates); and Jean Schulz (wife of Charles M. Schulz).

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
July 22, 1980
Ink on paper

“I can always get ideas during any activity. I’ve had many ideas during concerts, sporting events, things like that. I don’t write them down. I’m just able to remember them until later.” —Charles M. Schulz

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
July 23, 1980
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
July 24, 1980
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
August 7, 1980
Ink on paper

Starry Night

Beginning in the late 1950s, Charles Schulz began to create starry night strips featuring an expansive inky sky filled with stars, not long after moving to rural Sebastopol, California, from the Twin Cities in Minnesota. An evocative image from an artist who thought deeply about life’s big questions and was living somewhere he and his family would have seen the stars like never before. These strips were a fan favorite, including the three original strips presented in this section, which were amazingly collected by one family.

Click the audio player to hear behind-the-scenes commentary from Jean Schulz (wife of Charles M. Schulz); Justin Thompson (Senior Artist, Schulz Creative Associates); and Benjamin L. Clark (Museum Curator).

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Tile Mural
Designed by Yoshiteru “Yoshi” Otani

This mural, located in the Great Hall of the Museum, is composed of 3,588 ceramic tiles—or about ten years worth of daily strips originally published between 1956 and 1988. Otani hand-selected each strip, including several Starry Night strips, to compose the secondary scene of Lucy holding a football for poor ol’ Charlie Brown.

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
March 26, 1958
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
January 28, 1959
Ink on paper

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Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
May 2, 1961
Ink on paper

From the Archives: Over the course of several years, the Buckley family wrote three letters to Schulz, his syndicate which distributed Peanuts to newspapers, and Rhinehart, the publisher of paperback collections of reprinted strips, to request original strip art. Managing to receive three original strips was quite a feat! The three letters, one of which shown below, are part of the Schulz Museum Archives Collection. In 2019, a family member contacted the Museum. Fortunately, the Museum was able to acquire the three strips, on view above, and unite them with the original letters.

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Letter from Diane Buckley to Charles M. Schulz, May 7, 1958

Schulz’s Process

Charles Schulz carefully crafted his words, and character expressions, for the strip. Especially when revisiting popular themes and subjects; the pillars of what made his comic strip so successful.

To work on ideas each day, Schulz would get out a pad of paper to doodle his characters and what dialogue may pass between them, sometimes starting with a favorite premise or location. One can easily imagine Schulz smiling to himself as he realized he could turn the day’s distractions into a funny comic strip. He found inspiration everywhere.

Schulz favored the freshness and spontaneity of these sketches, to the laborious process of inking a final strip, referring to the sketches as “probably the best thing I do.”

At the end of each workday, Schulz routinely crumpled up his remarkable sketches and threw them out with the day’s trash. Fortunately, his secretary pulled the papers from the waste bin, took them home, ironed them flat, and placed them into a folder for safe keeping. Shown in this section are examples of Schulz’s sketches paired with their finished cartoon strips.

Charles M. Schulz
Preliminary cartoon pencil sketch on yellow lined paper
Features text for Peanuts comic strip dated July 29, 1998.

Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
July 28, 1998
Ink on paper

Charles M. Schulz
Preliminary cartoon pencil sketch on white paper
Features text for Peanuts comic strip dated February 20, 1999.

Charles M. Schulz
Peanuts
February 20, 1999
Ink on paper

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