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| For a brief period
In the early 1900's, Kodak hired well known artists to illustrate their ads. Then,
in 1928, Walter Teague designed a series of colorful cameras with matching art
deco boxes. These are now wildly popular with collectors. Otherwise Kodak cameras
and advertising art were created anonymously. Therefore it was a surprise to me
when recently, in a local flea market, I came across a Brownie booklet liberally
illustrated by, and credited to, Charles Schulz, the famous Peanuts cartoonist. |
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| Published
in 1955, this 32 page booklet has Schulz drawings on nearly every page. According to Nat Gertler, the premier collector and archivist of Peanuts publications at Aaugh.com, "This is, I believe, the first extracurricular use of the Peanuts characters. It was fairly early in the strip's run; there were already books of the strip, but general licensing was still a fair way away. The animated Ford ads were still years in the future. There were no greeting cards, no calendars, none of that stuff." |