Saturday, December 4, 2010

Yes, Virginia, there is a market for it...

Since my story concerns Santa Claus, I thought I'd spend the rest of the month focusing on The Big Man himself, with the occasional foray into topics also Christmas related.

Here is a copy of the original column printed in the September 21, 1897 edition of the New York Sun, and it answers the question: "Is there a Santa Claus?". As you may know, this editorial, one of the most-run columns in the English language was a response to the question posed by eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon (see "Dear Editor" to the left).

An interesting side note (found on Wikipedia):

Some people have questioned the veracity of the letter's authorship, expressing doubt that a young girl such as Virginia would refer to children her own age as "my little friends." However, the original copy of the letter appeared and was authenticated by an appraiser on the Antiques Roadshow in 1998. Its value was appraised by Kathleen Guzman, formerly of Christie's—now with PBS' Antiques Roadshow—at $20,000–$30,000.[2]

Ho, ho, ho-ly correspondence...

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