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IN THIS ISSUE:
*PEANUTS TRIBUTE DAY
*MORE ULTRA-DISCOUNT BOOKS
*SCHULZ INTERVIEW BOOK COMING
*MEMORIAL VIDEO CORRECTION
*PEANUTS TALKS IN SAN DIEGO
*AUCTION SCENE: GOOD NEWS, BUT BEWARE
*INTERESTING PEANUTS BOOKS: ORNAMENTAL
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PEANUTS TRIBUTE DAY
I hope everyone picked up their newspapers on May 27th. Some of the Peanuts tribute strips were great, some were, well, curious. A couple I won’t even comment on. Still, on the whole, it wss an intersting time. If you missed the strips, many (but far from all) are available on the www.Snoopy.com website.
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MORE ULTRA-DISCOUNT BOOKS
Things have been pretty quiet in the "Ultra-Discount" portion of AAUGH.com. Suddenly, we’ve added a half dozen additional titles to this remaindered books page. Those hardcover gift books that seem overpriced at full cover price are a lot more reasonable at about 50% off. We’re now offering DOGS ARE WORTH IT, one of the Peanuts Treasury series of 1990s reprints, for 44% off cover. The hardcover Snoopy storybook THE ROUND-HEADED KID AND ME is 42% off. But if you’re interested in these, act fast; on some books, we’re down to our last copy or two. To check out the Ultra-Discount shop, head right on over to:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/nat/ultra.htm
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SCHULZ INTERVIEW BOOK COMING
This is just a bit of a forewarning: there’s a book of Schulz interview excerpts coming in October. The author went through 300 Schulz interviews to pick out the good stuff. It’s too early to offer this to you at a discount; we’ll announce when we’re able to offer you a good deal on it. (Order this far in advance, you get charged full cover price. Order a little closer to the release date, and you will usually get a discount, and get the book just a quickly.)
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MEMORIAL VIDEO CORRECTION
We accidentally left the U.S. ordering phone number from the last newsletter’s piece on the video of Sparky’s memorial. To order from the U.S., call (800) 959-3385 between 10:00am and 5:45pm Pacific time, ask for item 54001. The price is $20 (which goes to charity) plus shipping.
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PEANUTS TALKS IN SAN DIEGO
If you’re living in the San Diego, California area, or if you’re a big-time comic book buff as well as a Peanuts fan, you should consider visiting the U.S.’s biggest comic book convention. Comic-Con International: San Diego runs from July 20th through 23rd. Among the multitude of panels will be not one but two panel discussions about Schulz and Peanuts. Last week, the convention contacted me and asked me to moderate the panels. They’ve already got some interesting people lined up for the panels, and I’m working on scaring up a few more. I’ll announce further details as things become more definite.
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AUCTION SCENE: GOOD NEWS, BUT BEWARE
The good news in online auctions is that the mania over Peanuts books has calmed down a bit. For months following the announcement of Schulz’s retirement, many of the prices that people were receiving for used books looked a bit ridiculous, and even a bit scary to those of us who have been collecting Peanuts books for a while. But that all seems to have calmed down, and reasonable prices for many things have resumed.
However, I do have to repeat my usual caution against accepting people’s claims of rarity, and especially against accepting "signed" copies at face value. One comics publisher recently reported having seen some of his company’s comics being advertised as having been signed *by people who were actually dead at the time the product was printed*. If you needed proof that such fraud is out there, then there you go.
(A common false claim is that the item being auctioned is out of print. This happens *all the time* with Peanuts videos, particularly. EVERY PEANUTS SPECIAL AND MOVIE EVER RELEASED ON VIDEO IS STILL IN PRINT, except for You’re In The Super Bowl, Charlie Brown. I’ve seen far too many people pay more than cover price, plus postage, for a used "out of print" book or worn video in such a situation. If you have any doubt, before placing your bid stop by AAUGH.com and check out catalog.)
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INTERESTING PEANUTS BOOKS: ORNAMENTAL
When is a book not a book? When it’s a Christmas tree ornament, of course! In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, Determined Productions was publishing updated, full-color editions of books such as Happiness Is A Warm Puppy and Security Is A Thumb And A Blanket. In addition to the full-length full-size versions, Determined also published some miniature versions. There was a boxed set of five mini versions, and then there were several Christmas ornament editions. These ornament editions of such books as Christmas Is Together Time and Love Is Walking Hand In Hand had only a handful of pages, and measured about 2 inches wide and three inches high. A golden loop of thread was bound into the spine, allowing you to hang them from a branch.
These volumes are out of print now, of course, but they do surface in online auctions from time to time.
That’s about it for today. I’ll be chatting with you all in a few weeks. Until then, keep sending me your questions and keep reading the good stuff!
–Nat Gertler proprietor http://AAUGH.com Nat@aaugh.com
