Old-School Santa Claus
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Old-School Santa Claus
Updated Mar 10, 2025
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Summer Owens
2 favorites
07/30/2014
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santa has put on a little weight in the ensuing years.
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Yes...I think Thomas Nast's drawings of Santa included Clement Moore's version of Santa with the belly resembling "a bowl full of jelly" which was later on than this photo.
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What a great old picture! :) I am curious if that is a real donkey or a former living donkey? Almost looks like its taxidermy! YIKES!
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It's taxidermy. Can see the wear marks on the fur on the hip
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Wow, that is crazy but I guess maybe a common practice back then! Thanks for letting me know! (Not sure I would have climbed up on him as a kid, Lol!
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Not so crazy when you think about Post-mortem Photography, that was practiced in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
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Now, that is a true statement. I stumbled across those once on youtube and found it unsettling and morbid. But began to understand they probably might not have HAD any pictures of them alive as we do today and now realize the concept behind it. I just can't look at them. I'm sure they brought comfort in moments of great pain but what I saw was mostly children and it broke my heart.
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I find those photo's fascinating .. and they took them for the exact reason you mention.. I love History .. even the not so pleasant ...
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I guess they didn't want donkey poop in pictures
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Hahahaha! I didn't even think of that! :) And I love history also Katherine!
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oh yeah, the Christmas Burro.... who could forget that?? I always wanted the Christmas Burro to come to my house, but that damn Santa dude started using reindeer. I heard the Christmas Burro is often seen drinking at the cheap restaurants in Tijuana near prostitute alley.. I feel bad for the guy....
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It appears to be Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey - Chingety Ching Hee Haw Hee Haw
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Creepy looking Santa! You can tell by the girl's body language that she feels the same way and just wants to get the photo over with. 😉
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Probably has more to do with the donkey.. I think this Santa represents Santa in the 20's.. I like him.. :)
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Like what ? Mom & Dad are probably standing right there.. this is an awesome photo.. why does it have to be suspect ?
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Well lots if people thought it was wrong....reply to them all. This is just random opinions. WTF. And you have no more idea what was going in than the rest of us. Parents might have been there??!!@ but it still looks "wrong" on several levels.
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Perhaps this was a photo taken at a store..the numbers were changed for each photo so could match up photo and person. I think the donkey is as fake as the backdrop and I am not so sure about Santa. That said..the photo is a treasure from the past. Poor child probably ended up with Santa issues.
Connie Wagar
13 favorites
12/18/2014
They used stuffed ones in studios for these shots. Fake backdrops were common.
Jeanet Groenink People tagged in this photo
Santa Claus, aka Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, Sinterklaas, Père Noël, Babbo Natale, Pelznickel, Topo Gigio and many other names, provides joy and presents to children around the world on Christmas.
It is believed that the legend of Santa Claus can be traced back to a monk named St. Nicholas who was born around 280 A.D. in Patara, Turkey. St. Nicholas had inherited wealth and gave away much (if not all) of his inheritance to the poor and suffering.
There are numerous stories of the impact of his kindness, and over the years he earned a reputation of being a protector of children. He died on December 6th and each year on his death traditions held that it was a particularly lucky day to make large purchases or get married.
Santa became popular in American traditions around the founding of the United States of America when a settlement of Dutch families gathered to honor the anniversary of St. Nicholas' death. By the early 1800s, and in particular by 1820, stores began to advertise Christmas shopping.
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