The Details:
George P. Webster. Santa Claus and his Works.New York: McLoughlin Bros., ca. 1875. [catalog record]
Kriss Kringle Taking Inventory. Watercolor on paper, ca. 1897.
Both gift of Herbert H. Hosmer, 1978.
The Story:
The Society owned just a few McLoughlin Bros. imprints before Herbert H. Hosmer donated his collection of nearly 1,000 picture books and 760 original artwork designs. Santa Claus and his Work, illustrated by Thomas Nast,is an excellent example of a paper bound McLoughlin Bros. printing. It is paired here with a watercolor design which was chromolithographed for the book Kriss Kringle. Both were originally part of the firm’s archive. In 1950, the archive was dispersed among members of the executive board. One portion was eventually acquired by Hosmer and is now preserved at AAS.
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