Charles Schulz (American, 1922-2000). Original four panel “Peanuts” comic strip, the daily strip for Monday, February 15, 1965. Black ink over pencil on drawing board. Pen signed along the right edge of the last panel. Provenance: Private South Dakota collection since 1965. Charles Schulz grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and fostered a love of comics throughout his childhood. He spent his later teen years studying drawing and cartoon work through a correspondence course with Art Instruction Schools. Following deployment in Europe during WWII, Schulz returned to St. Paul and got a job working as an instructor for the Art Instruction Schools. After a short lived comic strip for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, he hit it big with Peanuts in 1950, which was syndicated by United Features. The strip quickly became an enormous success, with legions of fans across the country–and world–falling in love with his quirky cast of characters and charming illustrations. The present lot typifies the characteristics for which Schulz’s comics were best-loved. It shows the characters’ personalities, always distinctive and lovingly mocked by Schulz. The strength of the character depictions, together with Schulz’s crisp, mobile linework, makes this a wonderful example of a Peanuts daily strip and of Schulz’s facility with character. Unframed; height: 5 1/2 in x width: 27 in. Framed; height: 12 1/4 in x width: 33 3/4 in.