Original artwork for a four-panel Peanuts daily comic strip featuring Charlie Brown and Schroeder, ink on artist’s cardstock, 28.5 x 6.25, December 16, 1954, signed in the last panel “Schulz.” Schroeder himself debuted in the strip (as a baby) on May 30, 1951. In 1953, he first marked Beethoven’s birthday by staying home from school; the present strip marks the first birthday “celebrations” for Beethoven (born December 16, 1770), who would remain the most pervasive influence on Schroeder over the next five decades. The present strip marks. A patch to Charlie Brown’s caption in the first panel provides an interesting insight into Schulz’s keen editorial sense and his dedication to making the humor in the strip as effective as possible. Faintly visible beneath the correction is Charlie’s original question, “A birthday cake, Schroeder?,” which Schulz finally amended by cutting the word “birthday.” Though the change was small, it was a perceptive one on Schulz’s part: not only would Charlie Brown have no way of knowing what the bakery box held (the generic “cake” making his query more plausible), but by reserving the birthday reference until the last panel, Schulz draws maximum effect from Schroeder’s “punch line.” As Schroeder was among the least-often seen of the regular Peanuts characters—as the strip evolved, he came to appear mainly in occasional story lines with Snoopy or Lucy—original strips in which he is featured so prominently are relatively uncommon. Usual vertical fold between second and third panels, a touch of mild soiling and faint toning, and light discoloration to the applied patch in the first panel, otherwise fine condition. R&R COA.
