Mysterious Early Santa Claus

[Baker, John]

I came across a very odd "Proclamation," ostensibly by Santa Claus or Santa Clause, in the (New York) Evening Post, Dec. 28, 1815 (Newspapers.com).  We've all heard of Mrs. Claus, but this is the first time I've seen Santa Claus referred to as a woman.  The item is also quite unusual for its lack of reference to Christmas, though of course its timing was at that time of year.

The proclamation is addressed to the practice of kissing women and girls, and it orders that males desist from the practice, from the date of the proclamation (Dec. 27, 1815) until Jan. 4, 1816.  In the body of the proclamation, the writer characterizes herself as "Santa Clause, Queen and Empress of handsome girls, women married and unmarried, not excepting ugly girls, and old maids of all sorts, phizzes, sizes and descriptions."  It is signed by "SANTA-CLAUS, Queen and Empress of the Court of Fashions."

If anyone wants to view this curiosity, I have made it available, using Newspapers.com's convenient clipping function, at http://www.newspapers.com/clip/981717/santa_clause_proclamation_new_york/.


John Baker

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