The Holiday Season is upon us and as part of all of the merry-making, many photographs will be made of festivities, decorations, families and friends. Before toy commercials and inflatable Santas, the Christmas season was a more mellow time. Photographs were far less common and, perhaps, more precious. Here are some photographs from the Library of Congress to remind us of “Christmases long, long ago.”
Christmas Tree Market, New York City, c. 1903
Children look through Macy's toy department window, New York City, c. 1908-1917.
Christmas Morning, c. 1896. Photographic print on cabinet card by F.J. Boston
Lyndhurst School, Tarrytown, NY, 1905. Sterocard.
Dr. Suess (Ted Geisel) at work on a drawing of a grinch, the hero of his forthcoming book, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," 1957. Photo by Al Ravenna, World Telegram & Sun.
Christmas Shoppers on 6th Avenue, New York, 1910. Bain News Service photo.
Toy department display at R.H. Macy and Company department store during the week before Christmas 1942. The hobby horse above costs almost one hundred dollars. Photo by Marjory Collins.
Sailors Hurrying Ashore for Christmas Leave, New York. Bain News Service
Christmas Tree in the Wright home, 7 Hawthorn Street, Dayton, Ohio, 1900. Photo by Wilbur and Orville Wright.
Christmas Toy Vendor, 6th Svenue, New York. Bain News Service.
Workmen putting up Christmas decorations on the front of the White House, December 19, 1939. Photo by Harris & Ewing.