Unpublished Rackham Santa Claus Mystery Solved
A Merry Christmas from Mr. and Mrs. John Barry Ryan, Christmas 1932, with original Rackham cover art
Three years ago we asked "Is This an Unpublished Rackham Santa Claus?" when Peter Harrington's Christmas catalogue included an apparently unpublished, original drawing by Arthur Rackham showing Santa Claus inside a spacious chimney on Christmas Eve.
The ink and watercolor artwork signed by Rackham came from a private collection and had confounded Rackham experts since it had not been published in any of the standard Rackham books but was hung for years in the anonymous seller's home library.
Now Mallory Wilhelm from Peruse the Stacks has been in touch with Fine Books & Collections with an answer to our question...
"It seems that Santa Claus was commissioned by John Barry Jr. to accompany his Christmas distribution in 1932," she says. "We're going to show it at the ABAA Virtual Book Fair this week and then in our Christmas catalog."
The catalog lists it as A Merry Christmas from Mr. and Mrs. John Barry Ryan for Christmas 1932 with original Rackham cover art, with green paper boards and the color illustration pasted to the front cover, and signed by Rackham on the first page inside.
John Barry Ryan Jr. was the grandson and heir of financier Thomas Fortune Ryan and husband of Margaret Kahn, daughter of Otto Kahn whose wealth and moustache were the inspiration for Mr. Monopoly.
The couple were both collectors and this is their Christmas greeting from 1932. Printed inside is Francis Pharcellus Church's famous editorial Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus which first appeared in the New York newspaper The Sun on September 21, 1897. It appears to celebrate the imminent birth of their daughter Virginia who was born on February 9 the following year and later became the first American to be a Lady-in-waiting, serving Queen Elizabeth II.
"The Santa Claus illustration on the cover seems to be specially commissioned by Ryan for the occasion as "Copyright, 1932, by John Barry Ryan" is printed right beneath it," says the listing. "This image was not included in Rackham's illustrations for The Night Before Christmas and is stylistically different enough that it isn't believed to be an abandoned plate for that project."
