Legendary cartoonist Charles M. Schulz used an Esterbrook Radio 914 nib exclusively to draw Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the famous  “Peanuts” cast of characters.   In 1950 the “Peanuts” comic strip  began appearing in seven newspapers with the characters Charlie Brown, Shermy, Patty, and Snoopy. Within a year the strip appeared in thirty-five papers, and by 1956 it was in over a hundred. The Peanuts cartoons were centered on the simple and touching figures of a boy, Charlie Brown, and his dog, Snoopy and their family and school friends. Adults were never seen, only hinted at, and the action involved ordinary, everyday happenings.

Charlie Brown had a round head with half-circles for ears and nose, dots for eyes, and a line for a mouth. Things always seemed to go wrong for him, and he was often puzzled by the problems that life and his peers dealt out to him: the crabbiness of Lucy; the unanswerable questions of Linus, a young intellectual with a security blanket; the self-absorption of Schroeder the musician; the teasing of his schoolmates; and the behavior of Snoopy, the floppy-eared dog with the wild imagination, who sees himself as a fighter pilot trying to shoot down the Red Baron (based on a famous German pilot during World War I) when he is not running a “Beagle Scout” troop consisting of the bird, Woodstock, and his friends.

Peanuts appeared in over twenty-three hundred newspapers around which made Charles Schulz an International Icon. . The cartoon branched out into television, and in 1965 the classic special A Charlie Brown Christmas won Peabody and Emmy awards. Many more television specials and Emmys were to follow. An off-Broadway stage production, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, was created in 1967 and ran for four years (it was also revived in 1999). Many volumes of Schulz’s work were published in at least nineteen languages, and the success of Peanuts inspired clothes, stationery, toys, games, and other merchandise.

His affinity for Esterbrook nibs was well known . When the original Esterbrook Pen Company announced it would be closing, Mr.  Schulz purchased all of the remaining inventory of his preferred Esterbrook Radio 914 nibs so he could be sure he was able to continue using them for drawing his beloved “Peanuts” comic strip.

Schulz announced in December 1999 that he would retire in the year 2000, the day after the final Peanuts strip. Schulz died on February 12, 2000, one day before his farewell strip was to be in newspapers.

On August 15^th 2002 , the Charles M. Schulz Museum opened its doors in Santa Rosa California. Millions of Peanuts fans have visited to learn more about the life and legacy of this American Icon and the Peanuts cast of characters. . A second museum opened in Tokyo Japan called the Snoopy Museum.  The Charles M. Schulz legacy continues today with a new generation discovering  Charlie Brown, Snoopy through new forms of media.

With this fall’s introduction of the Esterbrook Estie in Lilac, we are pleased to introduce our vendors and clients to Esterbrook’s new symbol, the Esterbrook Eternity. 

The Eternity symbol is made up of two connected “E’’s. They have no beginning and no end. This represents a timeline of perpetuity, linking tradition and modernity, old and new, past and future, then and now. It serves as a reminder of the trailblazing spirit of the founder of Esterbrook, Richard Esterbrook. It champions facing the future with the same determination and tenacity he and those before us did. It’s a pledge to our admirers and enthusiasts that as they persist, so do we. 

Esterbrook endures.

The Eternity symbol will make its first appearance on the polishing cloth included with the Lilac Estie. Estie’s are known for their beautiful high polish and this polishing cloth will help you maintain that shine as your Estie becomes a treasured writing instrument and heirloom.

The cloth is presented in Esterbrook signature red with the Eternity symbol repeated in continuum.

As we release new Esterbrook models, the polishing cloths will be included as a testament that the principles inherent to the symbol are synonymous with the values of our brand. 

The Eternity symbol will also appear on some of our new releases, featured as a logo on the tops of the pens. We will soon release The Camden, the first of our pens to include this new mark. We are excited to show it off to you.

As we add value to our offerings, we look forward to sharing more with you about who we are and who we will be. 

Esterbrook endures.

Thanks to Vanessa Langton for the stellar sketch

How the contest works:

Since the moment we introduced you to the Esterbrook Estie, you’ve made it a part of the stories you tell. You’ve photographed it with your journals, on your travels, outdoors, indoors, as part of large collections and as your singular everyday carry. You’ve welcomed our classic colors and been wildly enthusiastic about our seasonal editions. You’ve made cobalt, evergreen, lilac, honeycomb and the rest, a part of your daily lives and we’re thrilled that pen enthusiasts all over the world love the Estie as much as we do. 

As a thank you for embracing our labor of love, we want to celebrate the creativity of our community with our very first Estie contest. 

Introducing #myestiesticker 

You:  

1. Draw your favorite Estie. Draw it however and wherever your heart desires. Include text if you want or leave it to speak for itself if that doesn’t strike your fancy. It’s all up to you.
2. Post your drawing to your IG feed with the tag #myestiesticker.
3. Follow @esterbrook_official (what took you so long?) and tag two friends who need to meet the Estie, too.

We: 

1. Will make our favorite three drawings into Estie stickers to be included in future promotions.
2. Will send you an Estie of your choice along with your sticker.

The legal stuff: 

The contest will run from February 17th – March 1st. We will announce the winners shortly after. 

This contest is open globally. It is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Instagram and all participants and entrants release Instagram from any responsibility for the outcome. Other details and restrictions may apply.