Only What's Necessary: Charles M. Schulz and the Art of Peanuts

By Chip Kidd and Geoff Spear

Drawn from the archives of the Charles M. Schulz Museum, an in-depth look at Peanuts with a “wealth of original art” (The New York Times).

Charles M. Schulz believed that the key to cartooning was to take out the extraneous details and leave in only what’s necessary. For fifty years, from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, Schulz wrote and illustrated Peanuts, the single most popular and influential comic strip in the world.

In all, 17,897 strips were published, making it “arguably the longest story ever told by one human being,” according to Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University. For Only What’s Necessary: Charles M. Schulz and the Art of Peanuts, renowned designer Chip Kidd was granted unprecedented access to the extraordinary archives of the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California. Reproducing the best of the Peanuts newspaper strip, all shot from the original art by award-winning photographer Geoff Spear, Only What’s Necessary also features exclusive, rare, and unpublished original art and developmental work—much of which has never been seen before.

“Glorious…equal parts museum and monument, a masterwork of curatorial rigor and an affectionate homage.”—Brain Pickings

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 20, 2015
• ISBN: 9781613128633

Chip Kidd

Chip Kidd is a designer/writer in New York City. His book cover designs for Alfred A. Knopf, where he has worked nonstop since 1986, have helped create a revolution in the art of American book packaging. He is the recipient of the National Design Award for Communications, as well as the Use of Photography in Design award from the International Center of Photography. Kidd has published two novels, The Cheese Monkeys and The Learners, and is also the author of Batman: Death By Design and the coauthor and designer of True Prep, the sequel to the beloved Official Preppy Handbook. His 2012 TED Talk has been viewed 1.2 million times and is cited as one of the “funniest of the year.” He is most recently the author of the bestselling GO: A Kidd’s Guide To Graphic Design.

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Reviews for Only What's Necessary

[porch_reader · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A beautiful, coffee table book created by Chip Kidd. Kidd was given access to the archives of the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California. Here, he has reproduced the original artwork for comic strips along with other Schulz memorabilia. Together with a few essays about Schulz's career, the artwork provides a beautiful overview of Schulz's career.