Wonderful children’s book illustration of Santa arriving in his sleigh from the Clement C. Moore poem T’was the Night Before Christmas. One scholar believes that this illustration may be the first time Santa Claus was depicted wearing a red coat with white fur trim.
The accompanying lines from the wonderful Christmas story are:
Now, Dasher! now, Dancer!
now Prancer! now Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid!
on Donder and Blixen!
To the top of the porch,
to the top of the wall!
Now, dash away! dash away! dash away all!
The illustrator of this vintage Christmas image was not identified. It was used to illustrate Clement C. Moore’s (1779-1863) famous poem Night Before Christmas published circa 1870.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
