Clement Clarke Moore

Inscribed first edition of this collection of Moore's verse, the first with "The Night Before Christmas," then still known by its original title, "A Visit from St. Nicholas."

• Clement Clarke Moore (American).
• New York: Bartlett & Welford, 1844.
• 12mo.
•  Xii, [13]-216 pages. 
• Inscribed by Moore in ink to half title: "To Mrs. James L. Moore, / with the respects / of the author."
• Bound in contemporary half navy calf, blue cloth boards, expertly rebacked with original spine laid down, raised bands, gilt stamped spine, housed in custom full red goatskin clamshell box.

"Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse"

With this poem, Clement Moore created the modern Santa Claus. Christian legends and European folktales of St. Nicholas had existed before, but Moore's imagery — helped along in the 1860s by Thomas Nast's iconic illustrations — gave us the Santa Claus that children recognize today: jolly and plump, wearing a red suit with white fur trim.

First published in 1823 in the Troy Sentinel in New York, the poem became a popular inclusion in newspapers throughout the 1820s. However, these publications were anonymous; it was not until the poem's publication in 1837 anthology (The New York Book of Poetry) that it was attributed to Clement Moore. Clement himself did not claim it directly in print until this 1844 collection: "his first public acknowledgment of authorship" of the poem (Marshall, 10). A major edition of a cultural touchtone, scarce inscribed.