“The author has combined her love of Christmas with her extensive collection of ephemera from the holiday to create a nostalgic look at Christmases past.”
—Maine Antique Digest
“Barbara Hallman Kissinger’s tribute to all things Christmas . . . could become your family’s yearly reference.”
—Beaumont Enterprise
This unforgettable collection of vintage postcards, engravings, and entertaining lore celebrate the many ways of commemorating the Christmas holiday. More than one hundred fifty colorful illustrations, dating from the Victorian age through the early twentieth century, portray Christmas traditions of years gone by. Nostalgic images of angels, happy children, and Santa Claus are only some of the treasures selected from the more than thirteen hundred items in the author’s personal collection of classic Christmas books and ephemera.
Beautiful artwork, the majority of which originally appeared on postcards from across the United States and Europe, recalls the wholesome holidays of simpler times. The author also includes the fascinating variations of merrymaking, feasting, and traditions practiced by families around the world.
About the Author
Barbara Hallman Kissinger, a resident of Burlington, Iowa, has had a long career in the crafts and collectibles field, in particular, those relating to Christmas. She designed and marketed her own line of wooden folk-art Santas that were sold in thirty states. Her other design projects include embroidery patterns for VSM Sewing, Inc. and wooden craft items for Better Homes and Gardens. In addition to researching and collecting materials about the history of Christmas, Ms. Kissinger, dressed as Mrs. Claus, has given holiday presentations to schoolchildren. She is also the author of Christmas Past, published by Pelican.
CHRISTMAS MERRYMAKING
By Barbara Hallman Kissinger
ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES / Paper Ephemera
ANTIQUES & COLLECTIBLES / Postcards
128 pp. 8 x 9 1/4
152 color illus. Biblio.
ISBN: 9781589804821