Duly seen and noted on the eBay platform is a signed copy of By Supper Possessed (1988) by Charles M. Schulz. As is frequently the case, seller rialtos does all the heavy lifting so your blogger can sit back and enjoy the scenery. The book was sold on July 18, six months being as good a gestation time for a blog post as any.
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| Charles M. Schulz eBay listing ended July 18, 2025 |
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| Charles M. Schulz eBay item description |
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| Peanuts, February 16, 1958 Charles M. Schulz Original art |
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| Peanuts, February 16, 1958 Charles M. Schulz Original art |
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| Charles M. Schulz Heritage Auction listing accessed April 2, 2024 one day before the auction |
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| Charles M. Schulz Heritage Auction item description |
04923
In the late 1970s I had the good fortune to pay a visit to King Features Syndicate in Manhattan. I remember the open floor plan allowed me to see what some of the people working at drafting tables were up to and I was truly fascinated by it. For example, letterers were sitting before me inking the word balloons of some unfamiliar comic strip originals; it turns out that not every comic artist provided all that neat lettering.
One who did, of course, was Charles M. Schulz, the reigning star of King Features. There was a shelf with a stack of original art, including what must have been about a month's run of original Peanuts strips. At the time, there was nothing in the world of newspaper comics that could have impressed me more, and that was before each strip was worth a small fortune.
The real object of my visit, though, was to meet with Sylvan Byck (1904-1982), the comic strip editor for the whole operation. I had an appointment and had brought along a portfolio of my own work, by which I mean basically a few Strathmore pads. He reacted to the pieces I brought positively and pronounced them "marketable." He was quite encouraging, and he certainly didn't have to be. I was thrilled.
Still, I did tell him I was somewhat concerned that my drawings might be a bit derivative. He reassured me that James Montgomery Flagg had at one time considered his work too similar to that of Charles Dana Gibson, but Flagg most definitely came into his own as a fine illustrator with his own distinctive—not to mention incredibly popular—style. At our meeting I decided not to bring up my growing admiration for Ronald Searle, whose work I was already becoming quite familiar with. I figured an editor who specialized in American comic strips might not be all that familiar with or interested in the European illustration scene.
More than forty years later, I learn I was mistaken in my assumptions. An AbeBooks listing posted earlier this month by a French bookseller produces photos of Sylvan Byck's personal copy of By Rocking-Chair Across America signed by illustrator Searle and inscribed to the distinguished King Features editor himself in 1959, the year of publication. If the dust jacket's current condition is any indication, the book did not go unread.
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| "To Sylvan Byck with best wishes Ronald Searle NY 1959" |
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| Alex Atkinson and Ronald Searle AbeBooks listing accessed October 17, 2021 |
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| French to English via Google Translate |
Note: Sylvan Byck's Wikipedia page is just a click away.
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What can a cartoonist add to a first day cover? Often not much, but once in a while everything on the envelope comes together synergistically. One of the best of these covers I've seen is an air mail postal envelope with a printed cachet honoring Charles Lindbergh's 1927 nonstop flight from New York to Paris. The FDC is embellished in ink by Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz. He has added a drawing of World War I flying ace Snoopy flying what any aviation buff will tell you is a Sopwith Camel.
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| Charles M. Schulz RR Auction July 14, 2021 |
03690
Seen and noted on AbeBooks: Artie meets Charlie on the back of a postcard.
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| Art Spiegelman AbeBooks listing accessed April 15, 2021 |
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| Charlie Brown Inscribed "To Marc—Schulz" |
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| Charles M. Schulz AbeBooks Listing Accessed August 5, 2020 |
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| Charles M. Schulz AbeBooks Listing Accessed January 17, 2020 |
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| Charles M. Schulz AbeBooks Listing Retrieved December 15, 2019 |
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| From The Art of the Bookstore by Gibbs M. Smith |
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| Charles M. Schulz AbeBooks Listing Retrieved August 26, 2019 |
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| Inscribed "For John," and signed by Charles M. Schulz with a drawing of Linus |
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| Charles M. Schulz Security is a Thumb and a Blanket, 1963 |
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| Charles M. Schulz Security is a Thumb and a Blanket, 1963 |
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| Charles M. Schulz Security is a Thumb and a Blanket, 1963 |
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| Charles M. Schulz AbeBooks Listing Retrieved October 7, 2018 |
