Historic Treasure of the Week - December 12, 1982
By Dorothy W. Jerse
Curator, Vigo County Historical Society
Historic Treasure of the Week - December 12, 1982
By Dorothy W. Jerse
Curator, Vigo County Historical Society
The joy of Santa Claus
The children’s books and the trio of postcards pictured above are part of the Christmas collection of the Vigo County Historical Society. The beloved Santa Claus is pictured on each of the items showing his earlier physical characteristics and style of clothing.
Thomas Nast (1840-1902) is credited with giving us the Santa we have today in his famous Harper’s Weekly drawings. It took years to standardize this new Santa image; his outfit continued to vary in style and color well into our century.
The three postcards have different origins. One was printed in Saxony, one in England, and one is a modern replica of an antique card. Each is a good example of Santa’s portrayal as a tall lean man in a long cloak.
The books, The Night Before Christmas and The Santa Claus Book, both published by M.A. Donahue & Co., Chicago, also picture Santa much in the same way.
A shorter, chubbier Santa appears on the cover of Around the World with Santa Claus published by McLoughlin Bros., New York, in 1881. Typical of some of the earlier Santas, the jolly old elf’s clothing is made in a variety of colors: blue pants, red coat and green hat trimmed with brown fur.
Regardless of his age, build and clothing, his meaning has remained the same. Consider the last verse in this century-old book:
Our journey o’er, we enjoy a feast with Santa as the host,
And wind up the festivities with this most fitting toast:--
"Here’s a health to Santa Claus, the friend of girls and boys,
May his heart be every full of mirth--his pack be full of toys."
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.