Puck Christmas, 1907

Royalty Free

SS2628845

JA9499

Entitled: "Puck Christmas 1907" chromolithograph showing two women helping Puck hang Christmas decorations; they have used holly to form the name of the magazine "Puck" at the top of a window. Puck was America's first successful humor magazine of colorful cartoons, caricatures and political satire of the issues of the day. It was published from 1871 until 1918. It was the first magazine to carry illustrated advertising and the first to successfully adopt full-color lithography printing for a weekly publication. Holly, Ivy and other greenery such as Mistletoe were originally used in pre-Christian times to help celebrate the Winter Solstice Festival and ward off evil spirits and to celebrate new growth. When Christianity came into Western Europe, some people wanted to keep the greenery and give it Christian meanings. The prickly leaves of holly represent the crown of thorns that Jesus wore when he was crucified. The berries are the drops of blood that were shed by Jesus because of the thorns. Illustrated by Frank Arthur Nankivell for Puck and published by Keppler & Schwarzmann, December 4, 1907.

Library of Congress / Science Source