'Lovely' Tales

I know I use the word 'lovely' many many times, only because that's what so many images are . . . lovely, that is.

As here, a title page by Reginald Knowles for a 1910 edition of Tales from the Norse. The border treatment appears to be heavily influenced by Walter Crane et William Morris.

Visions of Santa

Yes, Virginia, before Haddon Sundblom's portrayal of Santa, Santa was almost never rendered the same twice. Every artist had their own vision, and some were rather . . . peculiar.

Some were come hither . . .

Some were grandfatherly . . .

Some were gaunt . . .

Some were color blind . . .

Some were from the land of Oz . . .

Some from the holy land . . .

Some came from deep in the forest . . .

Some were kindly old eccentrics . . .

Some were definitely from the far north . . .

Some, Yoda-like they were . . .

Some were drawn by Mary Engelbreit, long before she was born . . .

Some were reindeer wranglers . . .

Some were bound to the ground . . .

Some gave up reindeer altogether . . .

Some were modernized . . .

and were in a hurry . . .

Some were blatantly commercial . . .

Some were secretive and sly . . .

Some were downright scary looking. . .

and some were a child's worst nightmare . . .

I, for one, thank Haddon Sundblom for his contribution to the mythos.