[Space] Schulz, Charles, and Alan Bean, and Dick Gordon, and Charles Conrad, et al. Signed Snoopy Doll

No place, ca. 1969. Stuffed Snoopy doll, signed by Charles Schulz, with a drawing of Snoopy by him, as well as Apollo 12 crewmembers Alan Bean, Richard "Dick" Gordon, and Charles Conrad; also signed by Apollo 16 Command Module Pilot, Thomas Kenneth Mattingly, and Mercury and Gemini crewmember Gordon Cooper. Measuring approximately 10 in. (254 mm) in height.

A fine Snoopy doll, signed and doodled by Charles Schulz with a drawing of Snoopy, as well as the entire crew of Apollo 12, the second crewed flight to land on the moon. Also signed by Apollo 16 crewmember Ken Mattingly, and Mercury and Gemini crewmember Gordon Cooper.

Snoopy first joined NASA in 1968 as a mascot for the Manned Flight Awareness program, an initiative to promote flight safety within the space program. Space was the natural trajectory for the intrepid beagle, who had already shown his fearlessness and flight skills as the World War I Flying Ace. He first appeared on motivational posters and other internal NASA material aimed at boosting morale and continued high performance standards amongst the NASA workforce, and was typically depicted in a spacesuit. In furtherance of the Flight Awareness program, later in 1968 NASA began awarding the Silver Snoopy award (given in the form of a silver lapel pin depicting a space-suited Snoopy), given to members of NASA's workforce who made valuable contributions to flight safety. Still awarded today, it has since become one of NASA's most highly coveted prizes, and whose stringent requirements make it one of the most difficult to attain. Charles Schulz was all too happy to lend Snoopy's likeness as a symbol for the space program, and donated drawings for their use free of charge.

Since his debut in 1968, Snoopy has been used in a myriad of ways in the space program, including by Apollo astronauts, who referred to their communications headgear as the “Snoopy cap” because of its resemblance to the aviator helmet worn by the canine as the World War I Flying Ace. During Apollo 10, crewmembers used "Snoopy" and "Charlie Brown" as their call signals for their Command and Lunar modules, while also bringing illustrations of Snoopy and Charlie Brown aboard their spacecraft. Furthermore, Snoopy plush dolls have made frequent excursions into space, as recently as 2022 while on board Artemis's journey to the moon.

Together with:

The Moon is Made of American Cheese! Snoopy
No place: United Feature Syndicate, 1969. Orange felt banner, depicting space-helmeted Snoopy on the lunar surface, printed in black. 33 1/4 x 15 in. (844 x 381 mm).

Following the return of Apollo 8, the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon, someone asked the crew if the moon was made of green cheese, to which crewmember William Anders replied, "the moon is made of American cheese!"

Lot also includes an Apollo Launch Team Sticker (1969); 4 1/4 x 3 5/8 in. (108 x 92 mm).

Provenance

From the collection of Justin G. Schiller

[Space] Schulz, Charles, and Alan Bean, and Dick Gordon, and Charles Conrad, et al. Signed Snoopy Doll