Page 56 - JOA 12-20

the Red-Nosed Reindeer and yes, even The Night Before Christmas.
These and other Christmas book presents help to keep the
presence of Christmas with us through the year and even throughout
our lives.

A sketch in Harper’s Weekly from 1858 shows
a beardless Santa whose sleigh is pulled by a turkey

But what did this St. Nick look like? In early engravings, he could be
anything from a drunken fat man on a sleigh drawn by a huge turkey to a
rather disturbing giant elf seemingly grinning with joy as he was about to
devour a small child. Thomas Nast is credited with giving the old guy his
friendly, modern appearance when he illustrated an edition of The Night
Before Christmas in 1876. Santa was given a 20th century makeover with A grouping of vintage Little Golden Books
his appearance in a series of very popular Coca Cola ads. And soon there showing the Christmastime themes
was Pepsi Santa. The Santa Colas!
And let us not forget the wonderful Little Golden Books which pub- James Dawson has owned and operated the Unicorn Bookshop in Trappe, MD since
1975, when he decided it would be more fun to buy and sell old books and maps than to
lished many Christmas books in the 20th century like Santa’s Toy Shop, get a “real” job. For this born collector, having a shop just might be another excuse to buy
Jingle Bells, Baby’s First Christmas, The Christmas Story, The Animals’ more books. He has about 30,000 second hand and rare books on the shelves, and just
about all subjects are represented. Reach him at P.O. Box 154; Trappe, MD 21673;
Christmas Eve, Donald Duck and Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph 410-476-3838; unicornbookshopMD@gmail.com; www.unicornbookshop.com

The Civil War Collector continued from page 52

Q: Is this a real Civil War sword?

JS: Your sword appears to be 100%
original and authentic and in very good
overall condition with a nice scabbard
with no dents. Thomas, Griswold, and
Company of New Orleans made very
unique solid brass scabbards for their
swords, which this example exhibits, of
course. The swords are found three Above, the Griswold sword and scabbard. Below left, sword markings. Below right, the Griswold’s grimp
ways: unmarked; full, firm marking, like
yours; and “TG & Co./ NO”. The full
firm marking, “Thomas, Griswold &
Co / New Orleans,” is the most com-
monly encountered but also the most
desirable in the market. There was a very
similar full, firm-marked example being
offered in the April 2020 Poulin auction
with a pre-sell estimate of $5,000-
$7,000. It went for $9,400. In the past,
nice examples have sold in excess of
$10,000, but the market is softer now.

A Thomas, Griswold & Co. sword so
marked, one sold for $9,400.

John Sexton is an independent appraiser and expert of Civil War memorabilia. He is an accredited member of various appraiser
organizations. He can be contacted at john@CivilWarDealer.com, 770-329-4984 or www.CivilWarDealer.com. For a free
appraisal of a Civil War item, email a photo and a description to him or mclwriter@gmail.com.

54 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles