THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, ILLUSTRATED BY CARTOONIST ETHEL HAYS
(HAYS, Ethel) MOORE, Clement C. The Night Before Christmas. Akron, Ohio: Saalfield Publishing, 1942. Slim folio, original “cloth-like” illustrated self-cover; pp. 12.
Mid-20th century edition of the cherished Yuletide poem, with seven color illustrations (three double-page) and covers by pioneering female cartoonist Ethel Hays.
The anonymous poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” later attributed to the Rev. Clement Moore, first appeared in 1823 in the Troy Sentinel. This edition features vivid color illustrations by Ethel Hayes on each page. Onetime syndicated cartoonist specializing in roaring 20s comic strips (e.g. “Marianne” and “Flapper Fanny”), Hays turned to the illustration of children’s books, chief among them the Raggedy Ann and Andy material for the Saalfield Publishing Company, who in 1944 had purchased from Johnny Gruelle the rights to produce Raggedy Ann storybooks and spin-off items. Hays’ edition of Moore’s Night Before Christmas is characteristic of her “exuberant, curvilinear style, perfectly capturing the whimsy and energy” of her subject (Patricia Hall).
A fine copy, with only light soiling to covers.