# 5027 - 2015 First-Class Forever Stamp - Contemporary Christmas: Charlie Brown and Linus Leaning on Wall

U.S. # 5027

2015 49¢ Charlie Brown & Linus

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Contemporary Christmas

Alongside the Peanuts children are inanimate objects that take on a kind of life of their own, providing a series of running jokes.  They also remind us the characters, who often appear adult like, are actually little children living in a small world.

The Brick Wall is the main hangout for the Peanuts characters.  Originally, they met next to a street curb.  Concerned real children would copy the habit; Schulz used the Brick Wall in its place.  Charlie Brown, Linus, and Lucy are often found there, deep in discussion.  The children never mention the wall itself, however. 

Charlie Brown has been losing kites to The Kite-Eating Tree since 1956.  Charlie is the only child who flies kites near the tree, causing him to note that the tree would “starve to death” without him.

Lucy’s Psychiatry Booth is a parody of lemonade stands.  Characters come to it to tell Lucy their problems, trading a five-cent fee for useless advice.  In one series of strips, Lucy gives Snoopy helpful counseling to deal with his fear of the dark.  However, she takes his supper dish after he could not pay her.  In A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie visits the Psychiatry Booth for help with his depression, which leads to the memorable holiday play.

Each of the Charlie Brown Christmas stamps features a still taken from A Charlie Brown Christmas.  Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps.

Value: 49¢ 1-ounce first-class letter rate

Issued:  October 1, 2015 – 1 day before the 65^th anniversary of the first Peanuts comic strip

First Day City:  Santa Rosa, CA – at the Charles M. Schulz Museum

Type of Stamp: Commemorative


Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America for Sennett Security Products

Method: Offset printing in double-sided booklets 20


Perforation: Serpentine Die Cut 10 ¾  

Self-Adhesive

Quantity Printed: 50,000,000 stamps

In addition to marking the 65^th anniversary of the first Peanuts comic strip, these stamps marked the 50^th anniversary of the first airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965.  This set was the second issue to honor the Peanuts.  The first came in 2007 (#3507) and pictured Snoopy atop his doghouse dressed as a World War I fighter ace.

These stamps were also issued for National Stamp Collecting Month and continued the long tradition of non-religious Christmas stamps.  The very first U.S. Christmas stamp was issued in 1962.