Today, I finally obtained an item that I’d sought for  a decade, something that I had once let slip through my hands when it went for three figures at an auction, but hadn’t seen available since. And now it’s in my hands… but I still can’t tell you what it is. Not really.

Oh, I can describe it. It’s a simple stapled pamphlet, about 4.25″ wide and 4.75″ tall. Its color front cover bears the title “GOLFING — IT’S ONLY A GAME” and it is credited as “BY SCHULZ”. Past the cover, there are seven pages, each of which has a golfing cartoon from the 1957-1959 syndicated feature “It’s Only a Game”, which was written by Schulz but most of the final art was by Jim Sasseville.

What I can’t tell you is:

• Who published this
• When it was published
• Why it was published
• How it was distributed (it seems too cheap and thin to be a commercial item, beyond perhaps a vending machine filler, and the one I just got seems in too good condition to have been that)
• Who drew the cover (it’s clearly neither Schulz nor Sasseville)

The pamphlet has no indica, no copyright notice, no clue that I can discern what it’s purpose was in this world.

You know what it does have? A cousin.

This matched pamphlet has all the same lack of information of the golfing one…. which I want to refer to as “the other one,” but all I know is it’s an other one. This copy of the bowling booklet I purchased ten years back is the only extant copy I’ve detected anywhere so far. Given that this is obscure enough that I could only find one, might there be a Tennis — It’s Only a Game, a Baseball — It’s Only a Game, even a Bridge — It’s Only a Game that I’ve just not encountered yet? So far I’ve not found anyone who could tell me anything useful about these booklets. So all I have is these two items, and a mystery.

Share the news!