Snapshots of the Past

Christmas eve--getting ready for Santa Claus – Antique Print

Christmas eve--getting ready for Santa Claus, [published 1876] — antique engraving
Christmas eve--getting ready for Santa Claus, [published 1876]. Antique engraving from the Christmas collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Step back in time with Christmas eve--getting ready for Santa Claus, an antique engraving rich in period detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

Order it framed and ready to hang, or unframed to match a frame you already love. Perfect for a home, office, library or classroom wall, and a gift with a story behind it. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

Christmas eve--getting ready for Santa Claus

Order a print

Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal

Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.

Sign up for our newsletter

Sent securely. No purchase needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ask about licensing or this print

Black children getting ready for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve is the focus of this wood engraving, which ran in the December 30, 1876, issue of *Harper's Weekly* on page 1052. The magazine was one of the most widely read illustrated weeklies in the United States, and its holiday issues regularly carried scenes of domestic life meant for readers across the country. Wood engravings like this were cut by hand into blocks, often from an artist's drawing, so the finished image reflects both the illustrator's design and the engraver's skill. Depictions of Black family life appeared in mainstream periodicals of the 1870s far less often than scenes of white households, which makes this one worth a closer look.

Created / published[published 1876]
Medium1 print : wood engraving.
GenrePeriodical illustrations 1870-1880.Wood engravings 1870-1880.
NotesIllus. in: Harper's weekly, 1876, Dec. 30, p. 1052.
SubjectsChristmas--1870-1880. African Americans--Children--1870-1880. Domestic life--1870-1880.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 957 px · prints to 5 × 3 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-165075

More from the Christmas collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.