Ever wonder why the Peanuts gang is named Peanuts? Do you know who loves to collect stamps in the gang? How about Snoopy’s best friend or the hair colour of Charlie Brown’s crush? If you are a Snoopy fan, all these questions should be nothing new. But if you – like me – know of Snoopy as a household name and nothing beyond that, this cutesy exhibition at the Philatelic Museum has all the answers to the above.
The exhibition With Love from Snoopy, Charlie Brown & the Peanuts Gang in conjunction with SNOOPY AND CHARLIE BROWN: THE PEANUTS MOVIE is a happy visual space, filled with a good balanced spread of huge sized sculptures for visitors to admire from a distance as well as small stamps and comic strips to read up close. Here’s are the highlights of the exhibition:
Wide Range of Collectibles
Snoopy fans will surely love this! One entire shelf dedicated to the showcase of collectibles on loan from private collectors, Charlie Brown Café and Mint Toy Museum. From lobby cards to water bottles to soft toys, the complete set of McDonald’s Snoopy World Tour toys is the most nostalgic. These four bronze sculptures caught my attention, especially the second one from the left – a dreamy Linus with his security blanket is just too adorable.
The Peanuts Family Tree
This comprehensive family tree is my favourite “infographic”. It illustrates the interesting relationships between characters- siblings, BFFs and who has a crush on who… all in a chart! Below is a sneak peek for you!
Comic Strips and its Evolution
Marvel over the evolution of comic styles over the years by comparing the different looks of the characters over the decades. Here’s how Lucy, Linus’s elder sister, looked like over the past decades.
It’s so much fun and joy going up close reading these snippets of comic strips, with detailed captions and specific dates. Some are really funny. I hoped no one caught me laughing sheepishly to myself.
Heartwarming Letters from Charles Schulz and Peanuts’ fans
Receiving letters is always a lovely feeling. In this exhibition, there are many letters- both from fans and Charles Schulz- which contain concerns and requests of fans. It just goes to show the impact these comic strips have had on people’s lives.
As fans expressed their love for most of the characters, there was also one particular character, Charlotte Braun, which they did not quite like. This letter is a reply by Charles Schulz when one of his fans requested for this character to be axed.
Post Boxes and Stamps
Two Instagram-worthy post boxes to pose with: a Charlie Brown t-shirt inspired yellow post box and a red vintage pillar box donated by the Hong Kong Post.
Did you spot the giant Snoopy plush in the background? It’s a prize and you might be the lucky winner! Simply count the number of times Snoopy appears on the postage stamps exhibited, and fill in the number in this form (you can get it from the counter).
P.S. If I counted correctly, the number is quite big, so you might want to jot down the figures as you count, otherwise you might need to count all over again if you missed out one or two.
Lastly, with Christmas approaching , there are also nuggets of fun facts about Christmas like the first Christmas stamps and the first Christmas-themed comic strip in Peanuts. If you are looking for stamps to post out your postcards and letters, there are also Snoopy stamps for sale!
With Love from Snoopy, Charlie Brown & the Peanuts Gang Exhibition runs from 2 December 2015 to 30 April 2016, at Singapore Philatelic Museum, a beautiful red-roofed, two-storey building along Coleman Street.
Sharon is drawn to museums…from Disney to The Little Prince to ramen exhibitions, she simply enjoys staring and standing in front of exhibits; allowing her thoughts to wander occasionally. In an alternate universe, she imagines herself drawing and drumming. Meanwhile, she travels with a pen and notebook, as well as a missing DSLR.
