Pre 1850 English Father Christmas - Robert Seymour c. 1830

In my last post I commented on the Father Christmas figure portrayed by John Tenniel. This latest card probably illustrates the English and European tradition he was drawing on. The sketch on this card is a copy of an original by Robert Seymour, from the 1830s.

Look at it, and you can’t help noticing the figure’s pagan characteristics. He’s riding a goat, for one thing. For another, he's wearing a crown of holly – which we can also see retained in Nast’s and Tenniel’s versions. But then to my mind there’s also a hint of figures from Roman and Greek Mythology. The traditional figure of Old Father Time is ultimately derived from the Greek Cronus, whose Roman name was Saturn. The Roman festival of Saturnalia, dedicated to Saturn, was an end of year time of jollity and excess. Sound familiar? Maybe there’s also a hint of Dionysus, god of Wine, what with the steaming wassail bowl and the bottle in the basket. The Wassail bowl was a very common feature in portrayals of Father Christmas right up until the middle of the nineteenth century. The word wassail derives ultimately from the Old English phrase – Waes Þu hal  - Waes = be, Þu = you, hal = well, as in HALE and hearty. So essentially, ‘good health’ which is a traditional salutation over a glass of ale, which is appropriate considering that the traditional wassail bowl would contain a drink of mulled beer, curdled cream, apples, eggs, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and sugar. Mmm!

I’ll be honest, I’m not entirely sure of the significance of the baby cradled in his arm, although it may well be a representation of the coming New Year. Personally, I think that the most well known pictorial representation of this truly ‘traditional’ Father Christmas figure is John Leech’s illustration of the Ghost of Christmas Present in the first edition of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”  - and while it’s never stated that this is actually Father Christmas, the illustration clearly draws on the same traditions as Seymour’s illustration here. 

Poor Robert Seymour. Although a draughtsman of skill, and a certain reputation in his day, if he’s remembered at all it is for the circumstances of his death. Seymour, probably at the height of his fame and success in 1835 came up with a proposition for a series of illustrations of “The Nimrod Club”, a group of hapless sportsmen. His publisher’s, Chapman and Hall agreed, and the decision was taken to accompany the illustrations with short written text sketches, but a young writer nicknamed Boz who had recently had his first success with his “Sketches by Boz”. Boz was the young Charles Dickens. Before the publication of the second instalment, Seymour took a shotgun and killed himself. Many people have speculated what might have led Seymour to take his life, but as in many cases, nobody can really be certain.