1985 Charles Schulz Snoopy Sketch
GUEST:
This is a drawing that I actually saw Charles Schulz sketch. I worked at Hallmark, and we licensed Charles Schulz, and he came to talk to several of us. And I was sitting in the front row, and he had a flip chart, and he just sat there and… Probably less than a minute, did this sketch. I had been sort of smiling at him, and enjoying his talk, and he just gave it to me.
APPRAISER:
Schulz was speaking to...
GUEST:
He was speaking to a group of creative people at Hallmark. It was, I think, his 25th anniversary with having been affiliated with Hallmark. We were a few of the lucky chosen ones that got to listen to him, and he was just kind of talking about his life. Almost everything that you saw in the cartoons and the comic strips related to his life, it was his life. Afterwards, I went up to meet him and talk to him a little bit, and that's when he signed it. And I was thrilled when I got home and that little heart was on there. He was just real appreciative of the fans, but just real down-to-earth kind of guy, and just very much of a gentleman. So it was fabulous.
APPRAISER:
1950, Peanuts comic strip debuts. 1960, Hallmark begins its licensing relationship with Schulz.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
Then in 1965 we get A Charlie Brown Christmas, probably pretty iconic film, right, with the gang?
GUEST:
Oh, it's a great one. Watch it every year.
APPRAISER:
And then 20 years later, in '85, is when he comes to Kansas City...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...and visits all the employees there at Hallmark. And then Charles Schulz passed away in the year 2000, and 15 years after that, here in 2015, he is still annually one of the top earning deceased celebrities. In fact, this year, he ranks third, just behind Elvis and Michael Jackson.
GUEST:
Oh, really? I had no idea of that.
APPRAISER:
Snoopy and the gang earn together about $100 million a year. And with the Schulz licensing deal with Hallmark, which is their longest continuous licensing relationship,
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
..it's estimated they've made over 150 billion pieces of material related to Peanuts.
GUEST:
Oh my gosh.
APPRAISER:
That's amazing, isn't it? It's incredible, isn't it?
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Talking about the quality of the art, it is on a medium that is slightly less ideal than artist's drawing paper, since it's a flip chart. It's a little later than a lot of the things we see come to the market. But it is much larger than most things. This is about 30 inches by 27 inches. That's pretty big for a Snoopy depiction by Schulz. My estimation of its value for insurance purposes is $12,000.
GUEST:
Are you kidding me? Oh, my gosh, that's... just for a minute sketch.
APPRAISER:
That was a very valuable minute.
GUEST:
Yes, it sure was. That was great.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.