Who is the most enduring cartoon character of all time, recognized across the world for his snow covered secret fortress of solitude, good deeds and worldwide acclaim? Sorry, Superman fans, but the man from Krypton, another highly recognized comic strip character in history, still doesn't hold a candle to jolly old St. Nick.
Just picture the jolly old elf in your mind's eye at the very mention of his name. The image you share with millions of others was fostered by America's most celebrated political cartoonist of the 19th century, Thomas Nast.
Not only did Nast popularize the image of the being we recognize as Santa, he's responsible for popularizing the man, the mission and the magic of Santa Claus handed down through centuries of yule tides.
However, in the beginning was the word. Nast's Santa may never have been drawn without Clement Moore, a New York professor of Divinity, Biblical Studies, and languages at the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
Moore's bouncy verse, a Visit from St. Nicolas, was introduced to America in the pages of the Troy (N.Y.) Sentinel newspaper. Scholarly Moore was not acknowledged as the poem's author until later publications. Known as The Night Before Christmas today, the poem became an everlasting seasonal hit. The poem has been a Forum newspaper staple on Christmas Eve, just as it was on Dec. 23, 1823, in The Sentinel. Thomas Nast began as a cartoonist at the age of 15 when he was hired by Harper's Weekly, one of the nation's best known illustrated magazines. The German-born native came to the United States in 1846 and attended six years of public schools followed by art school.
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Nast's Harper's editorial cartoonist pen launched blistering attacks on political corruption, racism, KKK cruelty, anarchists and communism. In his life he would not only draw, but be lauded by national luminaries such as Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt.
Nast's cartoonist muse was inspired by Moore's description of Santa. Until that time, there were varying visual depictions of St. Nicolas, but Moore's poetic portrait described a more fanciful and magical being.
Nast captured the caricature of the delightful old elf, that is the inspiration for the jolly, white bearded bringer of gifts and joy to the people of the world.
Nast refined his Santa Claus drawings over 30 years of illustrations at Harper's and is credited with adding dimension to the Santa Claus mystique. Nast introduced the concept of children's letters to Santa, Santa's headquarters workshop at the North Pole, separating good little boys and girls from the naughty ones, and toys as presents.
With the introduction of the telephone to America, Nast drew a little girl's conversation with Mr. Claus on the phone.
Nast especially secured Santa's special relationship with Santa and children, that lasts to this day.
In a perfect blend of literature and art, a cultural literacy shared across time and nations, began in a newspaper on a Christmas Eve.
Stark is a Forum editorial cartoonist and columnist. He presents illustrated history programs in schools, for professional groups and in other venues. Email Stark at sstark@cableone.net
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