Snoopy & the Gang Frolic on Stamps

Nobody captured the joy and angst of childhood like Charles Schultz. Snoopy and the Peanuts gang from his comic strip are immortalized on this wonderful commemorative sheet issued by China. One of our February specials, it's available from County Stamp Center for only $6.57. Click the post title to order.

Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950, becoming one of the most famous comic strips of all time. It ran for nearly 50 years, appearing in 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. Pulling a few characters from an earlier strip Li'l Folks, Schultz loosely crafted the Peanuts gang after events in his own life.

Schultz learned the basics of his craft from a correspondence art school for which he later taught after World War II. Charlie Brown was named after a fellow teacher. The little red-haired girl was patterned after co-worker who refused his marriage proposal, forever after representing his unrequited love. Schultz loved ice hockey and figure skating which figured prominently into the antics of the Peanuts gang. For many years he owned an ice arena and his daughter Amy served as the skating model for the 1980 TV special She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown. Schultz died in 2000 at the age of 77 but his strip lives on in syndication.

Visit the County Stamp Center website for all your philatelic needs. While you're browsing, don't forget to enter our monthly drawing. This month you could win a great 32-page Lindner stock book valued at $24. It's easy to enter, just visit our contest page and enter your name and e-mail address. Hurry! The contest ends at midnight (Eastern Standard Time) on Wednesday, February 28, 2007.