The Famous History of the Famous Poem

Twas The Night: The Art and History of the Classic Christmas Poem, written and compiled by Pamela McColl
This is a big, beautiful "coffee-table book" published on the 200th anniversary of the writing/publishing of the classic "A Visit from St. Nicholas." It talks at first of the history of the Christmas celebration as well as the history of St. Nicholas, then switches to the history of Santa Claus in New York, a tale that pivots upon Washington Irving, who in his farcial history of the city, declared that St. Nicholas was the patron saint of the city formerly known as New Amsterdam.

Nor was Clement C. Moore the first person who talked about "Santa Claus" or his flying about in the sky. Indeed, there is still contention by the family of Henry Livingston, Jr., that he is the actual author of the poem, but the proof was lost in a house fire. (Author McColl talks about these theories, but believes the author is Moore.)

This is a neat book with a lot of historical information, but the author wanders far afield of the poem itself, quoting historical figures about Christmas celebrations but not necessarily citing Moore's poem. Still, the illustrations, of Santa Claus and of Christmas in general, are gorgeous, with many full page and half page color illustrations of paintings, advertisements, and magazine illustrations. I bought it at fifty percent off; you might want to find a bargain copy.