Category: Cartooning

An original Charles Schulz drawing on a sweatshirt for $9500? At first glance the drawing appears to be genuine.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/clt/1205071554.html

This a rather unique piece of artwork. It was created by Charles Schulz at a private Beethoven birthday party held in the late 60s at his Coffey [sic] Lane residence in Sebastopol, Ca.
Pictures of Beethoven and Schroder [sic] were drawn on two white sweatshirts.
Currently, one of the sweatshirts is owned by the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California. The other, in excellent condition and signed by Charles Schulz, is being offered for purchase. Serious buyers only, please.

I wonder why this is being offered on Craigslist, rather than eBay?

A few weeks ago, Mark Evanier said, “There is forged original artwork out there. Fake. Bogus. Fraud. Not actually by the person they say it’s by.” Amen. I now direct your attention to a press release for a charity auction at this link.

Autograph Store is proud to have provided these celebrity signed memorabilia items for the Make a Wish Foundation fundraisers:

1. Bruce Springsteen autographed guitar
2. Eric Clapton autographed guitar
3. Rolling Stones autographed record album
4. U2 autographed record album
5. Miley Cyrus autographed 16×20 photo
6. Jack Nicholson autographed 16X20 photo
7. Joe Torre & Rudy Giuliani autographed 16×20 photo
8. Julia Roberts & Richard Gere autographed 16X20 photo
9. Harry Potter Cast autographed 11X14 photo
10. The Jonas Brothers autographed 11X14 photo
11. Lance Armstrong autographed 11X14 photo
12. Charles Schulz Lucy sketch
13. Sylvester Stallone Boxing Glove
14. Muhammad Ali LeRoy Neiman Print
15. Barack Obama & Joe Biden autographed 8X10 photo

One of the items is a sketch of Lucy Van Pelt, supposedly drawn and signed by Charles M. Schulz. There are other Peanuts sketches available for charities to select for auction. Let’s take a look…

Charles Schulz – Snoopy – Signed & Framed Original Sketch

Charles Schulz – Snoopy as the “Red Baron” – Signed & Framed Original Sketch

Charles Schulz – Lucy – Signed & Framed Original Sketch

I don’t doubt these sketches are framed, but were any of then actually drawn by Charles M. Schulz? I doubt it. I can’t tell you if a Rembrandt preliminary drawing is authentic, but a brief glance is all I need to assume these weren’t done by Sparky Schulz. They’re most likely tracings. The flatness of the line, with its lack of variation in width, is one indication.

A week ago I featured Jean Vander Pyl, the woman who gave voice to Wilma Flintstone, so I’ll toss in this auction sketch, allegedly signed by Bill Hanna. It appears to me to have been drawn by the same hand that produced the Peanuts sketches.

Bill Hanna – Wilma Flintstone – Signed & Framed Original Sketch

I’m willing to give the sellers of items such as these the benefit of the doubt, that they procured them in good faith believing them to be genuine. They should, however, not be so quick to label sketches as genuine when it’s a relatively easy matter to check their authenticity.

Fantagraphics has put out a press release about Monte Schulz’s new novel, “This Side of Jordan”:

FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS ANNOUNCES THE ACQUISITION OF THIS SIDE OF JORDAN, A NOVEL BY MONTE SCHULZ

THIS SIDE OF JORDAN, by MONTE SCHULZ, will be unveiled at the 2009 Book Expo America in New York City, May 29-31, with an appearance by the author on Saturday, May 30, at 2:30PM in the Autographing Area.

The novel is described as, “a tapestry of American life in the summer before the economic crash of 1929, and a quintessential novel of the rural Midwest offered unexpectedly as a crime thriller.” You can pre-order it from Amazon at this link. Monte says “This Side of Jordan” is very different from his first novel, but like “Down by the River” I’m sure a ripping good read is guaranteed for all!