Santa Claus, white-bearded and red-suited, with spectacles pushed up and a clay pipe in hand, reads a paper headed "XMAS NEWS / To all Good Children." Holly and berries frame the top; "A MERRY CHRISTMAS" arcs above him and "HAPPY HOURS" appears on a silver scroll below. The card was sent to a boy in Leon, Iowa, with a note from Mary asking how the mumps were serving him. The pipe and spectacles reflect early 20th-century Santa illustrations, before the standardized modern image took hold.
Postcard Details
Message · English
I hear you have the
mumps -- How are they
serving you?
Mary.
Heavily embossed lithograph with silver metallic highlights and a gold ground; slight corner and edge wear.
Postmark: OSCEOLA DEC 1[?] 1909 IOWA (day partially visible). Divided-back embossed "St. Nicholas Series No. 3" card with 1-cent Franklin stamp; typed message and address in purple ribbon; light soiling and edge wear, embossing strong.
Cite this card
Santa Claus reading Xmas News, Leon, IA, 1909, postcard, c. 1909. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/santa-claus-reading-xmas-news-leon-ia-1909. Accessed November 13, 2026.
