(Minnesota/California, 1922-2000)

circa 1947-1950, Best Friend, ink over graphite on Strathmore paper, unsigned, titled upper left... "3" at top middle, four illustrated panels, 10-3/8 x 23 in., black frame with conservation glass, 12-1/4 x 27 x 1/2 in.

Provenance: gifted from James (Jim) Freeman, Editor at United Feature Syndicate, to his niece, Joan Deen

Note: This, and another in our sale, serve as examples of Schulz early work on the strip Li'l Folks, a forerunner to the popular Peanuts comic. The dog who served as the prototype for Snoopy is prominently featured.

The Charles Schulz works that we are offering in this sale were originally gifted to our consignors, Joan and Peter Deen, by Jim Freeman who worked as Editor at United Feature Syndicate.

In the early years, Schulz shopped samples of his work around the country, eventually convincing his hometown St. Paul Pioneer Press to publish his Li’l Folks strip, which ran from June 1947 to January 1950.

It was then that veteran editor Jim Freeman picked up the strip and signed Schulz to a five-year contract. Freeman also suggested that the cartoon go from a single panel to a four panel strip. Schulz made the recommended change to a more standard format.

Freeman was also consequential in the name change from Li’l Folks to Peanuts. It is said that Schulz was opposed to the new name, although it has endured to the delight of many Peanuts fans across the globe.