The classic It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown cartoon strip from Charles Schulz's Peanuts has sold with excellent results in an online auction that closed October 23.
The 15-frame strip was created especially for Halloween in 1965 and was signed "Best Wishes - Charles Schulz" beneath the title in blue ink. It sold for an impressive $40,954 - a huge increase on the $13,000 it was selling for just hours before the auction closed.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is one of the best known Peanuts cartoon strips, and was later made into the third TV special of Schulz's creation. The TV show aired a year after the strip's original publication, on Halloween 1966. In 2006, a retrospective book was released, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the memorable storyline.
The strip features a trick or treat sequence in which Lucy van Pelt attempts to collect Halloween candy on behalf of her younger brother Linus. Linus has chosen to pass on trick or treating to await the arrival of the mythical Great Pumpkin, making Lucy exasperated.
 It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is one of the most famous Peanuts strips |
The strip was sold in good condition, aside from staining to the title frame and areas of toning throughout. Its value was enhanced by handwritten annotations in the margin that originate from its production.
Despite the excellent results achieved in the sale, the price doesn't come close to the auction record for Peanuts memorabilia. That title is held by a 1955 strip in which Charlie Brown tries to organise a baseball game on a rainy day, which sold for $113,525 at Heritage Auction in November 2007.
Paul Fraser Collectibles has a superb range of Charles Schulz signed Peanuts memorabilia currently available. Our collection includes a number of original drawings of some of the best loved characters, including Snoopy in his favourite pose.
