WONDERFUL ORIGINAL SKETCH OF CHARLIE BROWN BLOWING OUT THE CANDLES ON HIS BIRTHDAY CAKE, INSCRIBED BY CHARLES SCHULZ

SCHULZ, Charles M. Original large sketch inscribed. No place, no date. Single sheet of buff paper, measuring 8-1/2 by 11 inches; matted and frame, entire piece measures 16 by 18 inches. $6500.

Original sketch of Charlie Brown blowing out the candles on his birthday cake, rendered in blue marker, inscribed in a speech bubble: "Happy Birthday, John!" and additionally signed by Charles Schulz.

"Peanuts first appeared in October 1950 in eight daily newspapers. The feature was immediately popular and was soon picked up by hundreds of other newspapers throughout the country. By the end of the decade Schulz had become arguably the best-known cartoonist in the United States… By the time of Schulz's death [in 2000] he had drawn a total of 18,250 Peanuts strips, and the cartoon was syndicated in 2600 newspapers worldwide, appearing in 21 languages in 75 countries" (ANB). "Novelist Jonathan Franzen has written that 'Peanuts was steeped in Schulz's awareness that for every winner in a competition there had to be a loser.' Charlie Brown was that loser. But of course most of us are that loser, which is why we love Charlie Brown. We see ourselves in his struggle, and admire his stoicism in the face of defeat… Charlie Brown keeps on keeping on, undaunted and decent, seemingly with the attitude that if he can survive being himself each day, he can probably survive anything at all" (Sydney Morning Herald). Sketches such as this one are unusual—its subject matter and the detail of its execution both reflect that Schulz spent an unusual amount of time on it.

Only faint staining to inscription. A handsome inscribed original sketch, beautifully framed.