![]() Likewise, when Polar Bear interrupts the 1931 missive to admit to sampling food parcels (‘Somebody haz to - and I found stones in some of the kurrants’), it’s easy to picture the family flocking to the letter, their Christmas excitement being cranked higher. With this brief, but beautifully rendered picture card, a tradition was born that would last almost a quarter-century, at the same time shining a spotlight on the creativity and affections of one of our most celebrated writers. ![]() Hope I shall arrive in time: the snow is very thick at the North Pole tonight’. ![]() The strange, shivery handwriting inside the card informed young John that the sender was ‘just off now for Oxford with my bundle of toys - some for you. The two intricate little artworks were captioned ‘Me’ and ‘My House’. Underneath, painted by the same hand, was a yurt-like, snow-covered dwelling tucked behind pine trees. Inside was a hand-painted card showing a familiar, red-coated whitebeard treading patiently through the snow. ![]() It was addressed to a three-year-old boy named John and the envelope bore an exotic stamp priced at ‘2 kisses’. One hundred years ago, in late December 1920, a letter landed on the doormat of an Oxford home. Ben Lerwill explores the penmanship, kindness and magic that went into Letters From Father Christmas. Tolkien sent his children elaborate letters and pictures from the North Pole. ![]() Country Life's Top 100 architects, builders, designers and gardenersįor nearly a quarter of a century, J. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |