Santa Claus: F.O.C. Darley, “A Visit from St. Nicholas", Harper's New Monthly Magazine. Cover, December 1857

The earliest version of the gift-giver who looked like Santa Claus rather than the halfling Dutchmen who appeared between 1837 and 1848 was a drawing by artist F.O.C. Darley

Perfection

Santa Claus Worldwide distills the cheerful essence of Christmas from many sources and studies, old and new. In addition to his wide reading, author Tom A. Jerman has brought a wealth of personal experience

Great Read!

Santa Claus Worldwide describes gift givers throughout the world in history from the pagan god Odin to the present day Father Christmas, Weihnachten, Père Noël, Ded Moroz, and Santa Claus. Mr. Jerman’s thorough research of this subject, takes the reader on a journey...

Amazing!

Until now I’ve been especially interested in Clement C. Moore and his transcendent poem The Night Before Christmas. Tom Jerman puts Moore’s classic in perspective with a broad and highly informative look at the international history of Santa Claus. For my own...

This book is REALLY impressive

I’m not a historian (I work with a lot of historians, but I’m not one!) but this book REALLY impressive piece of work! Extensively referenced and Tom Jerman does a great, scholarly job of telling the “stories” that should be told with the support of a lot of...

Aside from The Children’s Friend in 1821, the earliest version of the gift-giver who looked like Santa Claus rather than the halfling Dutchmen who appeared between 1837 and 1848 was a drawing by artist F.O.C. Darley to illustrate Moore’s “Night Before Christmas” on the cover of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine in December 1857.