Santa Claus and Little Bo Peep (published in "Harper's Young People," December 23, 1879)

Thomas Nast American, born Germany

Not on view

Santa dressed in a fur suit and with a box strapped to his back offers a stocking filled with lamb's tails to Little Bo Peep, as well as tacks and glue. The shepherdess at right holds a crook and is surrouned by toy sheep on wheels that lack their tails. A fir tree hung with more tails is shown behind the figures. The related wood engraving was published in the 1879 Christmas issue of Harper's "Young People." In 1862 Nast combined European traditions of St. Nicholas with folk images of elves from his native Germany to create the enduring image of a jolly gift-giver that we now so firmly associate with Christmas. Initially conceived as a way to cheer readers during the American Civil War, here Santa converses with a Nursery Rhyme character to entertain children.

Santa Claus and Little Bo Peep (published in "Harper's Young People," December 23, 1879), Thomas Nast (American (born Germany), Landau 1840–1902 Guayaquil), Relief print and electrotype

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.