Usually around this time of year I share a sampling from my vintage Christmas card collection, but this year I’m bringing you something a little different…vintage letters from the big man in red himself, Santa Claus!
I picked these up at an antique store, and they are letters parents could pick up from the local department store to mail to their children. These came with envelopes featuring Santa on the front and text on the back indicating it was a partnership between Santa Claus, Indiana and McLean’s Department Store in New York. What I find especially interesting is that the artwork on the envelope and the artwork on the letters do not match in style. The letters feature cartoony images of Santa and reindeer, while the envelope evokes a slightly more realistic Santa akin to what Haddon Sundblom did for Coca-Cola.
I found a few others on Ebay that showcase this was something Santa Claus, Indiana offered to more than just department stores, but shopping malls, drug stores, and banks. There were also a variety of different illustration styles in the letters, but all with the same envelope, indicanting the possibility the envelope was done first, and through the years they updated the letters.
I simply adore the artwork, especially the green one of the reindeer getting ready. I also love that the letters were clearly hand written and then printed, and what penmanship! The loops and curves are just so bubbly and wonderful. The language is also interesting, in that it seems Santa employs both elves and brownies, while most, at least American, folklore sticks to elves, although their age and appearance has always been debatable!
Can you imagine getting a letter from Santa when you were a child? I think I would have been over the moon about it! How about you?
One day I’ll get around to framing these. They are a little too large and delicate to hang like I do my vintage Christmas cards.
Want to get your hands on your very own vintage Santa letters? Check out ebay and Etsy! And what even more vintage Christmas imagery? Check out other vintage Christmas card posts here!