J. C. Leyendecker and Norman Rockwell did fat, jolly, red-clad Santas well BEFORE the Coca-Cola advertisements. Red-coated Santas appear on Christmas cards from the 1880s and 90s, and of course Nast's Santa goes back at least to the 1860s.
The claim that the modern Santa began with a commercial artist in the 1930s is preposterous on the face of it. Surely the Coca-Cola Santa Claus must have been a stereotype of long standing; otherwise people would have been scratching their heads, wondering: "What in heck is this fat bearded man in red supposed to be?"
The claim that the modern Santa began with a commercial artist in the 1930s is preposterous on the face of it. Surely the Coca-Cola Santa Claus must have been a stereotype of long standing; otherwise people would have been scratching their heads, wondering: "What in heck is this fat bearded man in red supposed to be?"