IMAGES OF ST. NICHOLAS dating back to the Middle Ages depict a tall, gaunt figure dressed in long robes. A short book called "The Children's Friend, Number III," published in New York in 1821, contained the first illustration of a character named Santeclaus flying in a sleigh pulled by reindeer. The biggest change to Santa's appearance came from the anonymously published 1822 or 1823 poem "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" (popularly known by its first line, "'It was the Night Before Christmas"). The poem describes the figure as "chubby and plump," with dimples and rosy cheeks. Over the following years, illustrators played with Santa's attire. Some dressed him in suits of brown or green. Robert Walter Weir's1837-38 painting presented him in red jacket and black pants, but with-out facial hair. Editorial cartoonist Thomas Nast portrayed Santa in his political illustrations, including one from 1881 that showed a white-bearded Santa in a fur-trimmed red suit with a wide belt buckle. In the 1930s, a series of Coca-Cola acts by illustrator Haddon Sundblom helped standardize Santa's look-rotund and bearded, in a red suit and with white trim (a lot like our Santa photo on page 16).

Debbie Schaefer-Jacobs, curator of home and co0mmunity life

National Museum of American History