Personal Snoopy sketch may be priceless to owner

Q. Charles M. Schulz, the creator of “Peanuts,” and my grandfather were pen pals and this sketch was sent to him for his birthday. The drawing is approximately 24 inches high by 12 inches wide and is inscribed “From Snoopy to Mr. Mike (my grandfather's dog) in honor of Doctor Bob Kane's birthday!” and signed “Charles M. Schulz.” The drawing is framed and is only slightly creased. Should we have this piece insured?

Q. There are many beloved cartoon characters, but it would be hard to top Snoopy in the hearts of many Americans.

Charles M. Schulz was born in Minneapolis on Nov. 26, 1922, (he died on Feb. 12, 2000), and comic strips always played a part in his life. His nickname, for example, was “Sparky,” which came from a horse prominently featured in the popular comic, “Barney Google.”

Throughout his youth, Schulz and his father shared a Sunday-morning ritual of reading the “funny papers,” or comic-strip section of the local newspaper. Schulz always knew that he wanted to be a cartoonist, and in 1937 his drawing of the family dog appeared in the popular Robert Ripley's “Believe It or Not” column.

Schulz put his cartoonist ambitions on hold during World War II when he served as a machine-gun squad leader — but he regularly sketched episodes of everyday Army life in his sketchbook. Schulz was discharged in 1945 and resumed his cartoonist career in earnest.

It was his goal to have a nationally syndicated cartoon series, and this dream was realized on Oct. 2, 1950, when “Peanuts” debuted in seven newspapers. Snoopy, Charlie Brown's lovable dog, made his first appearance on Oct. 4, 1950, and was based on one of Schulz's childhood dogs, Spike.

Until 1965, Snoopy ran around on all four paws like a regular canine, but in that year, Schulz give him human characteristics and Snoopy began to be seen walking on all twos and using his forelegs something like human arms.

Original drawings of Snoopy can be valuable, but the range of those prices can be very wide depending on just what Snoopy is doing and whether the image incorporates any color. A black-and-white image of Snoopy with his legs flying and his ears flopping might sell at auction for $2,000, while an image of Snoopy just sitting in green grass might fetch $3,750, also at auction.

An example with Snoopy wearing glasses and reading on his doghouse has sold for $2,300, and one with Snoopy wearing sunglasses, a baseball cap and a baseball glove has sold for $3,250. Smaller examples, however, with notations such as “Best Wishes,” bring somewhat less — in the $250-$500 range.

We feel that the extensive personalized greeting on this piece actually reduces the value considerably. But it is a good size and probably has an insurance-replacement value in the $1,200-$1,800 range. So yes, have it insured.

• Contact Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson at Treasures in Your Attic, P.O. Box 18350, Knoxville, TN 37928.