The US Postal Service presents new stamps to salute the centennial of cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (1922-C2000) whose Peanuts characters are some of the best-known and most beloved in all of American culture. For five decades, Schulz alone wrote and drew nearly 18,000 strips, the last one published the day after he died. Each character reflects Schulz??s rich imagination and great humanity. His resonant stories found humor in life??s painful realities including rejection, insecurity, and unrequited love.

Debuting in 1950, ??Peanuts?? garnered hundreds of millions of readers worldwide. Its original cast included Charlie Brown and Snoopy, soon joined by Lucy, Linus and others. Each character reflects Schulz??s rich imagination and great humanity.

Charlie Brown, at the heart of  Peanuts, is often defeated but always resilient. Schulz??s resonant stories found humor in life??s painful realities including rejection, insecurity and unrequited love.

In the 1960s, ??Peanuts?? became a worldwide phenomenon with beloved television specials, books, a Broadway show and countless products.

For five decades, Schulz steadfastly wrote, drew, inked and lettered every ??Peanuts?? strip  nearly 18,000 of them, he last one published the day after he died.

Schulz won many awards during his lifetime. In 2000, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress.