December 20, 2012
Santa Claus Builds A Flying Machine
Postcard showing “Santa Claus of the Future” from 1908 (Source: Novak Archive)
Some people are up in arms over a recent update to Santa Claus that excised his smoking habit. However you feel about Santa losing his pipe, let me assure you that this won’t be the last time that Santa gets a makeover. It’s easy for some people to forget that every generation has “updated” Santa to fit with the times — or in some cases to fit with the future.
As the 1800s gave way to the 1900s, many Americans felt like perhaps Santa Claus needed a new way of getting from house to house. Since the early 19th century, old Saint Nick had been using a sleigh and reindeer to deliver his presents. But by the 1890s some Americans thought an automobile would be a more modern form of transportation for the jolly old man. However, some illustrators didn’t think that the automobile was quite modern enough and wanted to blast Santa into the future with his very own flying machine.
The postcard above (sent in 1908) shows Santa smoking his pipe in his flying machine and dropping a doll down some lucky kid’s chimney.
A boy dreams of the radio parts Santa will bring him in his flying machine in the Dec 1922 issue of Science and Invention (Source: Novak Archive)
The December 1922 issue of Science and Invention magazine included a list of the best radio parts to buy your little “radio bug.” The list included an illustration of a young boy dreaming about Santa Claus soaring through the sky in his flying machine. That large aerial sitting behind Santa lets us know that he’s definitely hip to the latest technology of the Roaring Twenties.
Santa’s flying machine in the Dec 22, 1900 Duluth Evening Herald (Source: Minnesota Historical Society microfilm archive)
The December 22, 1900 issue of the Duluth Evening Herald in Duluth, Minnesota ran a page claiming that Santa’s reindeer would be put out of work soon as he skims over the tops of houses in his flying machine.
Santa of the future in yet another flying machine (Dec 21, 1900 Carbondale Press)
The December 21, 1900, edition of the Carbondale Press in Carbondale, Illinois included the illustration above — “The Twentieth Century Santa Claus.” Just as there were debates at the turn of the 21st century over whether to celebrate the year 2000 or 2001 as the beginning of the century, so too were they fighting over the start of the 20th. Unlike the 21st century however — where 2000 pretty much won out for those impatient yet Y2K-compliant souls — it was generally accepted that the year 1901 would be the proper time to celebrate the beginning of the 20th century.
Santa Claus “up to date” in the December 24, 1901 Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette
This illustration of Santa “up to date” comes from the December 24, 1901 Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette in Cedar Rapids Iowa. This may be the most modern of them all because if you look carefully you’ll see that Santa Claus patented his flying invention. I guess he didn’t want the Easter Bunny biting his style.
Santa’s flying machine from the December 19, 1897 issue of the Galveston Daily News
The December 19, 1897, issue of the Galveston Daily News in Galveston, Texas ran a poem by Earle Hooker Eaton titled “The Song of Santa Claus.” The poem speaks of Kris Kringle’s new flying machine and how neglected the poor reindeer are. Here’s hoping their “pitiful fate” was simply being put out to pasture rather than meeting some grisly demise at the hands (or hooves) of modernity.
With a whirr of my wings I’m away on the wind,
Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! Like a bird in the sky,
And my home at the Pole soon is left far behind,
Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! But it’s cold up so high!
I’ve a packet of trinkets and candy and toys,
To slip in the stockings of misses and boys,
Till heart after heart is a storehouse of joys,
Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! How delightful to fly!
Every whir of my wings speeds me swift on my way
Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! What a wonderful gait!
For the horse and the reindeer have both had their day,
Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! What a pitiful fate!
Poor Dasher and Dancer no longer are seen,
And Donder and Blitzen with envy are green,
Kris Kringle now travels by flying machine,
Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! But I’m right up to date!
Do you have a favorite vision of futuristic Santa Claus? How do you suppose Santa will get around in the year 2100?
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Santa’s always adapted to the time, yes, and even location. In Brazil, Santa uses a rope ladder to come in the window (no fireplaces – it’s tropical). Since most modern fireplaces are turned on with a wall switch, I imagine soon the whole world will have Santa get in some other way.
i love the flying machine in the ‘Santa of the future in yet another flying machine (Dec 21, 1900 Carbondale Press)’ drawing. still looks so sleek an’ futuristic. though santa would need a visor of some sorts unless there was a forcefield protecting him from the elements
anyway, from this regular reader, happy holidays and new year. i always look forward to a new article on the paleofuture blog. how the past saw the future, especially their illustrations, is so cute
I tend to wonder if Santa would be able to survive in a future where one won’t have to drive and pick up, or push a button and wait for delivery of objects? I mean in a future world where 3D replicating machine will exist (heck, maybe even clouds of self-assembling smart nano-particles!) – where the only cost will be the amount of energy input and possibly materials (but then again, that’s just another form of energy) – things could be “created” and “destroyed” at will; we might not even have or need physical objects, just the digital patterns that they need to recreate from; you’d just instantiate them at will. Anyone could (depending on how much energy they could spend/expend to do so). In such a world – everyone could be “Santa Clause” in some manner…?
There’s a poem called “The Night After Christmas” by Anne P. L. Field, in which Santa is deluged by calls on his brand-new telephone from kids complaining about the toys they received. In the end, Santa cancels his phone service and flies off with an aeronaut (balloon pilot) to get a little peace and quiet!
I’m sorry, but the first image is just creepy. Looks like Santa is about to drop a little girl to her death.
Is there no room at the inn for Winsor McCay?
@Wut2ke,
If you look closely, I believe that is a doll he’s dropping off. You can tell by the hands. No fingers.
C’mon! Santa had this figured out long ago. Check out this web site which explains it all.
http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/12/23/the-physics-santa-claus/6U1HMiutt5t5Y430X2p2yN/story.html
The reindeer thingy is used just so most people have something they can wrap their mind around.
I knew I wasn’t far from the truth.
http://encompassingchaos.wordpress.com/2012/12/15/hohodooda-14/
love love love that postcard!!!!
Yeah, I *know* it’s a doll. The article says so too. My point was that when you first look at the image, it looks like a girl. Sheesh.