By now you've probably heard that a large collection of love letters from "Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz sent to Tracey Claudius, a woman 23 years his junior, was offered for sale at Sotheby's last week. Schulz was 48 when he started writing these letters, and Ms. Claudius was 25. She is now reportedly ill, and her family consigned the corresondence to Sotheby's auction of Fine Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana. The letters include a number of original drawings and they date from 1970-1971. Schulz divorced his first wife in 1972 and remarried the following year. The archive consists of 44 letters on a total of 56 pages, and carried a presale estimate of $250,000 - $350,000. That's around $5,000 a page. The collection did not find a buyer in the December 14 sale.
These love letters made the news and the press has alluded to this affair as a scandal. Schulz's first marriage may have already been troubled at the time of this correspondence. These letters were exhibited in Philadelphia in 2011, but many had not heard of their existence until this sale. My interest in this affair is not prurient but rather is based on the observation that cartoonists can produce very pleasing pictures when they are in love and trying to impress someone. Schulz's approach is gentle but insistent and shows him elaborately planning and recalling clandestine long-distance phone calls and hugs stolen in public places. Schulz proposed marriage twice to Claudius, but she refused him both times.
With 56 pages of correspondence to draw on, should we be at all surprised that Sotheby's chose to represent the entire archive with just one photograph in its catalogue listing? Quite a few other images from the collection have made it onto the internet elsewhere and they are of considerable interest. I have included many of these below the auction listing.
Photos of a number of works apparently from this archive are can be found at various sites. Here are a few, with links back to them:
Photos by Jeffrey W. Bussmann from the "This is a Love Letter" exhibition in Philadelphia:
These love letters made the news and the press has alluded to this affair as a scandal. Schulz's first marriage may have already been troubled at the time of this correspondence. These letters were exhibited in Philadelphia in 2011, but many had not heard of their existence until this sale. My interest in this affair is not prurient but rather is based on the observation that cartoonists can produce very pleasing pictures when they are in love and trying to impress someone. Schulz's approach is gentle but insistent and shows him elaborately planning and recalling clandestine long-distance phone calls and hugs stolen in public places. Schulz proposed marriage twice to Claudius, but she refused him both times.
With 56 pages of correspondence to draw on, should we be at all surprised that Sotheby's chose to represent the entire archive with just one photograph in its catalogue listing? Quite a few other images from the collection have made it onto the internet elsewhere and they are of considerable interest. I have included many of these below the auction listing.
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| Charles M. Schulz, Letters to Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971 Sotheby's |
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| Charles M. Schulz, Letters to Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971, Detail 1 |
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| Charles M. Schulz, Letters to Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971, Detail 2 Sotheby's |
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| Charles M. Schulz, Letters to Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971, Detail 3 Sotheby's |
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| Charles M. Schulz, Letters to Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971, Sotheby's Catalogue Listing |
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| Charles M. Schulz, Letters to Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971, Sotheby's Catalogue Note [End of Sotheby's Listing] |
Photos of a number of works apparently from this archive are can be found at various sites. Here are a few, with links back to them:
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Charles M. Schulz, Love Letters to Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971
http://house-of-mystery.blogspot.com/2012/12/peanuts-romantici-le-lettere-di-charles.htmlSotheby's |
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Charles M. Schulz, "Hi, Sweetie!"
Letter to Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971 |
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Charles M. Schulz, "Yesterday I stood in a book store for two hours
and no one gave me a hug." Letter to Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971 |
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Charles M. Schulz, "I liked seeing you through a tennis racket,"
Love Letter to Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971 |
In 2011, some of these love letters were exhibited at Space 1026 in Philadelphia. They are from the private collection of Katie Leeman, daughter of Tracey Claudius.
.JPG) |
Charles M. Schulz, "Rats! I hate it when I don't get any love letters!" Love Letter to Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971
"This is a Love Letter" Exhibition
Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA, 2011
Photo by Bailey Salisbury
http://realnormal.blogspot.com/2011/04/dear-tracy.html |
.JPG) |
Charles M. Schulz, Letter from Dorothy E. Moore to Schulz Forwarded with Comments to Tracey Claudius, 1970
"This is a Love Letter" Exhibition
Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA, 2011
Photo by Bailey Salisbury
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Charles M. Schulz, Letter to "Sweet" Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971
"This is a Love Letter" Exhibition
Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA, 2011
Photo by Bailey Salisbury
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Charles M. Schulz, "My Bold Plan," Letter to Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971
"This is a Love Letter" Exhibition
Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA, 2011
Photo by Bailey Salisbury
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Charles M. Schulz, "This is a Love Letter," Letter to Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971
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Charles M. Schulz, "Love is sharing." Letter to Tracey Claudius, 1970 - 1971
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Charles M. Schulz, "On April 22nd you squeezed my hand in the dark! Remember?" Letter to Tracey Claudius, 1970-1971
"This is a Love Letter" Exhibition
Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA, 2011
Photo by Alex Lucas |
Photos by Jeffrey W. Bussmann from the "This is a Love Letter" exhibition in Philadelphia:
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Charles M. Schulz, Letters to Tracey Claudius, 1970-1971
"This is a Love Letter" Exhibition
Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA, 2011
Photo by Jeffrey Bussman
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Charles M. Schulz, Letters to Tracey Claudius, 1970-1971
"This is a Love Letter" Exhibition
Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA, 2011
Photo by Jeffrey Bussman
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Charles M. Schulz, "Tracey Left with Joe Cool," Letters to Tracey Claudius, 1970-1971
"This is a Love Letter" Exhibition
Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA, 2011
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Charles M. Schulz, Letters to Tracey Claudius, 1970-1971
"This is a Love Letter" Exhibition
Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA, 2011
Photo by Jeffrey Bussman
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Charles M. Schulz, Letters to Tracey Claudius, 1970-1971
"This is a Love Letter" Exhibition
Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA, 2011
Photo by Jeffrey Bussman
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Charles M. Schulz, Drawing of Snoopy on Photograph, 1970-1971
"This is a Love Letter" Exhibition
Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA, 2011
Photo by Jeffrey Bussman
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