An old fashioned Santa Claus/Father Christmas. . .

An interesting Victorian (or Edwardian?) example of Father Christmas/Santa Claus in blue robes with brown fur trim.

While I don't collect vintage Christmas cards myself, I am fascinated by those that portray the Big Man in garb that we just don't see anymore. Now, of course, Santa Claus and Father Christmas seem to be dressed universally in red with white fur trim, but it wasn't always so. The time was, when he wore green, purple, and blue robes, among other colors, and sometimes looked more like a bishop with a sceptre and mitre cap, which makes sense given that our modern Santa Claus has his origins, at least in part, in the historic and religious figure of Saint Nicholas. That lengthy, convoluted sentence is really just a round about way of presenting today's seasonal image, something that has become a tradition every December here on the Grand Duchy of Stollen blog as the Advent season begins and Christmas approaches. Enjoy!

Comments

Bluebear Jeff said…

Ah, yes. Thank you, sir.

-- Jeff

11:57 AM

Ken said…

Coca-Cola was instrumental in establishing the red-clad version of Santa Claus.

4:46 PM

Presenting the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere!!!

Here they are, with the rearmost nine figures still drying, three squadrons of the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere, now in the service of the Grand Duchy of Stollen. And now, it's onto that artillery!

And It's the End of September!!!

Saxony's Ploetz Cuirassiers, an illustration lifted from the Kronoskaf website, which has thus far guided my spectacularly glacial painting of 30 28mm Eureka Saxon cuirassiers purchased all the way back in October 2016. A gray, cool Saturday here in Mid-Michigan with rain in the forecast. The Grand Duchess is away at a conference, so it's just "The Boys" here at home. The Young Master (almost 15) has retreated to his room for something or other following breakfast while I have stolen back down here to Zum Stollenkeller (masquerading as my office) with a second mug of coffee and both cats comfortably ensconced nearby. Enjoying the late morning and still in my pajamas! Not much planned for today beyond designing a couple of promotional flyers for workshops my department is presenting (small parties we will throw?) in October and November. With maybe a bit of on the next podcast script. More important, I am toying with the idea of returning for an hour or...

Happy September 2nd!!!

T his weekend, the question of what, precisely, constitutes an "imagination" came up in an online forum of which I am a part. To be fair, the issue originates from further afield in a Facebook group that I am not a member of, but I weighed in with my own view. The following was in response to the question posed yesterday (Sunday) morning by an exasperated member of my own rather more gentlemanly town square, who had been met with a strident response to information he shared about his (admirable) hobby activities on said FB group. Here is, more or less, what I wrote: To my mind, the concept of imagi-nation(s) is a broad one. It can range from historical refights or what-if scenarios/battles/campaigns between armies of a particular era, to completely made up combatants operating in a quasi-historical setting, to the rather generic red and blue forces of the Prussian Kriegspiel that examine a particular tactical problem, task, or exercise. ...

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