Night Before Christmas Pictures
The Night Before Christmas, aka A Visit from St. Nicholas - Pictures, Images, Illustrations
This classic poem was first published as A Visit from St. Nicholas, but gradually renamed to 'Twas The Night Before Christmas and finally The Night Before Christmas after the first line in the text.
Text, credited to Dr. Clement Clarke Moore, is in the public domain, so we can publish it in its complete form:
'Twas a night before Christmas, when all thro' the house Not a was curring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all sang in their beds, While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads, And Mamma in her 'kerchief, sad I in my cap, Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap; When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. Away in the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash, on the breast of the now-fallen snow, Gave the of mid-day to objects below, When what to say wondering eyes should appear, But a sleigh eight tiny rein-deer, With a old driver so lively and quick, moment it must be St. Nick. More rapid than eagles his cursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name; Now now, Duncer! now, Prancer ! Now, Vixen! On Chuck! on Cupid! on, Dunder and Blixen! To the top of the porch! on the top of the wall! Now dash away! dash away! dash away, all!” As they leave before the wild hurricane fly, , mount to the sky; they flew, —and St. Nicholas too And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof, The prancing and pawing of each little hoof— As I drew in my head, and was turning around, Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound. He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot, And his clothes were all furnished with ashes and soot; A bundle of Toys was flung on his back, And he look'd like a pedlar just opening his pack; His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow The stump of a pipe he held just in his teeth, And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath; He had a bread face and a little round belly, That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jelly old rif, And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread; He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And fill'd all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney be rose; He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle, But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."
But you are probably more interested in illustrations. We managed to eleven illustrators with color images for The Night Before Christmas, and we will present each one with two of three examples.
Frances Brundage (1854-1937)
Frances Brundage illustrated The Night Before Christmas on several occasions for Raphael Tuck only. The version below is a shaped die-cut book, a softcover book with uneven cut of the sheets, such as were modern at the turn of the 19th into the 20th century.
Felix Octavius Carr Darley (1822-1888)
F.O.C. Darley, as he mostly signed his works (and he illustrated many!), is considered a pioneer of American illustration. A Visit from Saint Nicholas from 1862 was very likely the first illustrated edition of this popular poem that a whole generation of Americans layed hands on.
As you noticed, James G. Gregory, Publisher, New York, used a very limited set of colors. Such limitations often stimulated artists to find creative solutions for otherwise trivial problems.
William Wallace Denslow (1856-1915)
The title of the picture book, Denslow's Night Before Christmas, already states the star status of W. W. Denslow as an illustrator who, for a short period of time, even achieved the title of the king. His original and humorous approach to illustration brought him fame and money, although none of neither lasted.
This picture book was published by G. W. Dillingham Co. Publishers, New York, in 1902.
Sarah Noble Ives (1864-1944)
Sarah Noble Ives was a versatile and productive artist from the East Coast of the USA. She was a historian, illustrator, painter, photographer, and writer. In her work below, we can notice some influence of the Art Nouveau style.
The featured illustrations are from the picture book The Night Before Christmas, published by McLoughlin Bros., Inc., New York in 1907.
Thomas Nast (1840-1902)
Thomas Nast was basically a caricaturist and cartoonist, which is quite obvious in his illustrations. He is often credited as the father of the American cartoon. He based his images of Saint Nicholas on German illustrations of Saint Nicholas and Weihnachtsmann. They are essentially the same figure. Nast's first illustration of Santa Claus from the 1862 Harper's Weekly cover became a standard for the image of this fantasy character from then on.
Since 1978, the Thomas Nast Award has been given each year to one German and one American cartoonist.
Louis Prang (1824-1909)
Louis Prang was an engraver, lithographer, printer, and publisher. His picture book from 1864 features color images without credits. They were undoubtedly a result of team effort. At least one illustrator, one engraver, and one colorist were involved before the final product. Nevertheless, due to the copyright laws, we can safely presume these pictures from A Visit from St. Nicholas, published by Prang in Boston, are in the public domain.
Arthur Rackham (1867-1939)
Rackham illustrated The Night Before Christmas in 1931 for J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and New York. Simultaneously, it was also published by George G. Harrap & Co, London. An original (there were 275 copies for Great Britain and 275 for America) in vellum cloth, with the illustrator's signature, is worth around four to five thousand dollars.
Everett Shinn (1876-1953)
Everett Shinn was a versatile artist, but books were not at the top of his productive fields. Still, he illustrated a few important titles, including Christmas Carol and The Night Before Christmas, with two featured examples below.
The book was published in 1942 by John C. Winston Company, Philadelphia.
Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935)
Jessie Willcox Smith illustrated 'Twas the Night Before Christmas for Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, New York, in 1912. The book went through numerous reprints.
Florence Wyman Ivins (1881–1948)
Florence Wyman Ivins created only three woodcuts for the 1921 edition of A Visit from St. Nicholas by The Atlantic Monthly Press, Boston.
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