Here comes SANTA CLAUS

Last year I did a post about the iconic Coca-Cola Santa painted by Haddon Sundblom. Of course not a living soul outside my own brain new this blog existed so I'll give a link to that post.

What you see below is the cover of a wonderful book of these very Santas. I've put a link to the book in the left-hand column. It's a  book with beautifully reproduced vintage Coca-Cola ads. Brings back the Santa I remember from my childhood. 

And here is the oldest Santa Coca-Cola ad I have. It's from the December 1939 National Geographic.

Click on image to see it larger.

Now, to read a bit about Haddon Sundblom and see some of his other work click on the following links:

American Art Archives (Dave, make sure you click on this one. There's a surprise there for you.)

Haddon Sundblom at Wikipedia  You'll be surprised to see his last "Santa" 

The Coca-Cola Company

And from the wonderful blog Today's Inspiration:

Christmas Ski Party

The Old School: Haddon Sundblom

The Old School: Actually "The Chicago School?"

The iconic COCA-COLA SANTA

Santa, as most of us envision him, was created by illustrator Haddon Sundblom in the 1930s for Coca-Cola. In 1992 the book Dream of Santa: Haddon Sundblom's Vision was published by Staples & Charles. The book covers the images painted from 1933 to 1964. Included is a nice foreword entitled "Who Is Santa Claus?" followed by a few pages about Haddon Sundblom. 

Though I believe the book is out-of-print, for Santa enthusiasts it's well worth tracking down. I have put a link in the left-hand column to copies available at Amazon. You can also visit the following Coca-Cola website for more information about this iconic image: http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/cokelore_santa.html