Snoopy loves going to the library for his tales of the Bunny-Wunnies by Miss Helen Sweetstory! Where did this Snoopy Plush get his “I Love My Library” Shirt? Is it mere coincidence that I’ve seen other Snoopy plushes wearing this shirt? Or perhaps a lost piece of history yet to be rediscovered? Let me know if you have evidence for this mystery!
Searching the Past
Plushes wearing t-shirts was a big thing in the 1980’s. Just ask miniature me who grew up back then. I loved going to gift shops with their rotating display of t-shirts for my little bears. They were probably about the size of the clothing for an 11″ Snoopy. Each shirt had a graphic or cute saying on it. Giving a bear with a t-shirt was a 1980’s way to upgrade your sharp-edged greeting card to something soft and cuddly. The Applause Teddy Tees seems to be what I remember, but they are smaller than Snoopy’s shirt. Let me know if you find a vintage doll shirt collection that could fit Snoopy’s 18″ tall frame.
Digging deeper, I found some Snoopy library posters that might be related. The American Library Association has partnered with Peanuts recently, but there may have been past promotions. Could this Snoopy plush have been a licensed mascot to get kids into the library and reading?
Check out more Snoopy outfits from my collection in our Collection Showcase.
Mystery Solved
Update 1/21/2023 – I came across an old article in Peanuts Collector Newsletter Vol 1. from 1994. In it, Cheryl Foote, a librarian, is pictured with her “I love my library” Snoopy plush. The article was originally published by the Herald-Star and written by Janice Kiaski. The relevant paragraph says:
“Her favorite Snoopy item is a stuffed animal Snoopy that says I Love My Library,’ a promotional piece the American Library Association used eight years ago to encourage reading. That promotion also included a poster showing Snoopy hugging a book and saying ‘I Love Happy Endings.'”
This puts the original promotion by the American Library Association at around 1986. Snoopy is definitely supposed to be wearing this muscle tee! It’s also good to have confirmation that the poster I found was related. With this new information, I was able to find a mention of the “Read” poster in the January-February 1987 Peanuts Collector Club Newsletter.
Additional Information
Update 9/2/2023 – I may have had the answer all along! Checking through my Pinterest board of old Ads and Catalogs, I came across this entry for a catalog page featuring the read poster and the Snoopy plush. The pages aren’t very large, so it’s no wonder I didn’t spot the shirt on Snoopy. However, once you know what Snoopy’s shirt looks like, there’s no doubt this is the same shirt.
Since the eBay listing is long gone, I was able to cross-check it with Worthpoint and find the original listing. Looking through the catalog, we can definitely date the plush and poster to 1984 at the earliest based on the order form.
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