On December 25, 1822, Clement C. Moore, a professor of literature at a theological seminary in New York, read A Visit from Saint Nicholas aloud to a gathering of family and friends. On December 23, 1823 it was printed anonymously in the Troy Sentinel. It was several years before Moore was credited as the author in a publication.

Moore's authorship of this poem has been debated. In his recent book, Author Unknown, Don Foster presents evidence pointing to Henry Livingston, Jr., as the author of A Visit from Saint Nicholas. For more information on Henry Livingston see the website describing the search to prove Livingston's authorship of A Visit from Saint Nicholas. Also, the January 2001 issue of Common-place has an article by Stephen Nissenbaum on this subject.

In 1848, the first illustrated volume of the poem was published. The image above is from a 1933 reprint of that volume. Since 1823, the poem has been reprinted many times and is arguably the most popular and recognized description of Christmas Eve. The McLoughlin Brothers in New York published several editions for which The American Antiquarian Society holds many original watercolors. Click on the image to view others from the same edition.

To read a parody on the poem, titled "The Night After Christmas," click here.

The images that follow are from the McLoughlin Collection and various editions of A Visit from Saint Nicholas. Click on each image to view other images from the same edition or collection.

McLoughlin Brothers Collection watercolor
used in the 1896 edition of A Visit from Saint
Nicholas published by McLoughlin