I have been fascinated with Mr. Peanut ever since I first encountered him as a young child on a trip to Atlantic City with my father and sister. It was a magical day on the boardwalk, long before the casinos arrived. On Steel Pier I remember watching a woman on horseback diving into the water, taking a sepia toned photo with my sister inside a make believe jail where we were holding my father prisoner and another where we were poking our heads through carnival cutouts. We even went down under water in the mysterious diving bell! Anyone familiar with vintage Atlantic City will surely remember these amusement park wonders.
What sticks out most in my memory however, was walking past the Planters Peanut shop and seeing black spindly legs with spats and slowly looking up to see a gigantic peanut man towering above me: head silently bobbing back and forth with dark holes where his eyes should be. It was terrifying but for some reason instead of being traumatized by this experience, I instead became fascinated to the point of obsession as the years went by. I collected Mr. Peanut ephemera and even had the chance to design a vintage Mr Peanut print for Nick & Nora pajamas years later licensed by Planters that remains one of my all time favorite prints.
This portrait was my homage to the Mr Peanut costume of the 1960’s that I remember so well. It conjures up for me the smell of roasting peanuts and the touch of the salty breeze from the ocean on my skin. It has since become one of the most popular prints in my Etsy shop and even led to a private commission for a similar portrait (holding the bag of peanuts). I can only imagine that it is because there are many of you out there that share fond memories of Atlantic City and
it’s neighboring towns and boardwalks during the glory days of the Jersey Shore.
