Vintage Santa Claus
Vintage Reproductions Gallery

Our vintage Santa Claus image gallery celebrates Christmas by bringing you a collection of vintage Santa Claus postcards from the late 1800s to the early 20th century.

Every Christmas Santa Claus thrills children in America with visions of reindeer sleighs, Christmas stockings and rooftop visits down the chimney, but the rosy cheeked, pot-bellied, jolly Santa Claus that we are so familiar with in America was actually popularized by a Coca Cola advertisement in 1931.

Before the 20th century, Santa Claus always appeared as an old white-bearded man, but he could be thin, was sometimes scary, often jolly and sometimes downright stern. He dressed in overcoats and robes, but they were many different colors, and he delivered his presents through windows, by knocking on doors, and down chimneys, having traveled from different homelands with with horses, goats, donkeys, reindeer or just walking with a staff through forests. By the early 20th century he arrived in cars, biplanes and hot air balloons! In many cultures, he didn't deliver presents at all at Christmas, but on Saint Nicholas Eve in early December.

He was also known by many different names, depending on the country and culture he came from - Saint Nicholas, Tomte, Sinterklaas, Pere Noel, Kriss Kringle, Father Christmas, Grandfather Frost, Joulupukki, Old St. Nick and many more. He is still known in Europe and throughout the world by different names.

When penny postcards became popular in the late 19th century, Santa Claus, in his many guises, decorated thousands and thousands of postcards sent to friends and loved ones for the Christmas season, in all kinds of poses, robes and scenes. These images show the vintage Santa Claus as he was all over Europe before he became our modern day American version.

Thanks for visiting our Vintage Santa Claus Gallery!

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