SOURCE URL: https://archive.org/details/newyorkhistorica00newy
DOCUMENT: "The Autograph Copy of the 'Visit from St. Nicholas'", New-York Historical Society Quarterly Bulletin, vol. II no. 4 (Jan. 1919), pp. 111-115, printing T. W. C. Moore's letter of 15 March 1862 transmitting Moore's autograph (dated 13 March 1862) and the Society's editorial account (Harriet Butler story; 1829 Sentinel; Troy Budget 25 Dec. 1838; Myron King broadside).
PROVENANCE OF THIS TEXT: OCR (djvu text) of the archive.org scan of the bound Bulletin volumes 1917-1922. The OCR of the facsimile pages (112-114) is garbage and is left as-is.
VERIFICATION STATUS: [V] verified directly against a scan or OCR of the original document / period printing
RETRIEVED: 2026-09-14
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ORIGINAL  DOCUMENTS   FROM  THE  ARCHIVES
OF  THE   SOCIETY.
The  Autograph  Copy  of  the  "Visit  from  St.  Nicholas"
The  world-renowned  and  unsurpassed  Christmas  poem  "A  Visit
from  St.  Nicholas"  or  "  Twas  the  Night  before  Christmas"  was
first  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  public  on  December  23,  1823,
when  it  appeared  anonymously  in  the  Troy  Sentinel  published  at
Troy,  New  York.
The  original  poem,  which  is  said  to  have  been  composed  in
1822  by  Clement  C.  Moore  as  a  Christmas  present  for  his  two
daughters,  is  not  known  to  be  in  existence.  Forty  years  later  when
Dr.  Moore  was  in  his  83rd  year,  Mr.  George  H.  Moore,  Librarian
of  The  New- York  Historical  Society,  suggested  that  he  write  an  auto-
graph copy  of  the  celebrated  poem  for  the  archives  of  the  Society
and  as  is  seen  by  the  following  letter  the  request  was  complied  with,
and  we  reproduce  the  autograph  copy  of  the  poem  with  this  article.
73  East  12th  St.
New  York,  March  15th  1862.
Geo.  H.  Moore  Esqr
Librarian  of  The  New- York  Historical  Society:
Dear  Sir:
I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  Doctor  Clement  C.
Moore  has  been  so  kind  as  to  comply  with  my  request  (made  at
your  suggestion)  to  furnish,  for  the  Archives  of  our  Society,  an
Autograph  Copy  of  his  justly  celebrated  "Visit  from  St.  Nicholas."
I  now  enclose  it  to  you. —
I  hardly  need  call  your  attention  to  the  distinctness  and  beauty
of  his  hand  writing: — very  remarkable,  considering  his  advanced
age,  (he  completed  his  82d  year  in  July  last)  and  his  much  impaired
eye  sight.
These  lines  were  composed  for  his  two  daughters,  as  a  Christ-
mas present,  about  40  years  ago. — They  were  copied  by  a  relative
of  Dr.  Moores  in  her  Album,  from  which  a  copy  was  made  by  a  friend
of  hers,  from  Troy,  and,  much  to  the  surprise  of  the  Author,  were
published  (for  the  first  time)  in  a  Newspaper  of  that  city. —
In  an  interview  that  I  had  yesterday  with  Dr.  Moore,  he  told
me  that  a  portly,  rubicund,  Dutchman,  living  in  the  neighbourhood
112  T  H  E      N  E  W-Y  ORK      HISTORICAL      SOCIETY
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QUARTERLY     BULLETIN  113
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114  T  H  E      N  E  W-Y  ORK     HISTORICAL      SOCIETY
hjAt  J  hcwd  Au'v*  fctclcusYK^e  jie  cOio*t  OiM' of  Arafat
f^GJrJp.'u    U^juAt/vrtcut  U>  o.K}  Ciiad  ^   CaM  U    cow d  fn*cM .
(  SGI,  Mcwclh  /3.  on*  cUsyvcM^  w*i
of  his  fathers  country  seat,  Chelsea,  suggested  to  him  the  idea  of
making  St.  Nicholas  the  hero  of  this  "Christmas  piece"  for  his
children.
I  remain,  very  respy.  Your  ob\  st.
T.  W.  C.  Moore
The  story  of  this  charming  Christmas  poem  runs,  that  Miss
Harriet  Butler,  daughter  of  the  Reverend  David  Butler,  rector  of
St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  Troy,  New  York,  was  visiting  the
Moore  family  in  New  York  City  in  1823,  when  she  met  with
the  poem.  Delighted  with  its  rhythm  and  happy  conceptions
she  requested  the  privilege  of  making  a  copy  of  it.  On  her
return  to  Troy  she  sent  it  to  the  Editor  of  the  Troy  Sentinel,
Orville  L.  Holley,  who  published  it  in  the  issue  of  December
23,    [823    with    an    introductory   paragraph    in   which    he   thanked
QUARTERLY     BULLETIN  115
the  unknown  sender  and  complimented  the  unknown  author.  It
is  recorded  that  the  publication  of  it  caused  Professor  Moore
regret  and  chagrin  as  he  did  not  wish  it  to  be  published,  but  as  it
grew  in  popularity  each  year  by  its  republication  at  Christmastide,
the  desire  to  know  the  author  became  more  intense  and  in  1829
the  Troy  Sentinel  announced  that  the  author  of  the  famous  lines
belonged  "by  birth  and  residence  to  the  City  of  New  York,  and  that
he  is  a  gentleman  of  more  merit  as  a  scholar  and  a  writer  than
many  of  more  noisy  pretentions."
Altho  the  Editor  of  the  Troy  Sentinel  intimated  that  he  knew
the  name  of  the  author  of  the  poem  in  1829,  it  was  not  until  1838
that  its  authorship  was  publicly  acknowledged  when  it  appeared
in  the  Troy  Budget,  December  25th  of  that  year  and  again  in  1844
in  a  volume  of  poems  entitled  "Poems  by  Clement  C.  Moore,
LL.D."  New  York:  1844.
Of  the  verses  printed  in  this  volume  the  only  one  that  attracted
the  slightest  attention  was  "A  Visit  from  St.  Nicholas,"  which  the
author  considered  of  so  little  merit  and  did  not  want  published.
The  poem  was  first  illustrated  by  Myron  King,  an  engraver  of
Troy,  New  York,  about  the  year  1830,  when  a  broadside  appeared
with  the  now  familiar  picture  of  Santa  Claus  in  a  sleigh  and  eight
tiny  reindeer  riding  over  the  housetops.  The  picture  was  printed
above  the  poem  on  single  sheets  which  were  distributed  as  a
"Carrier's  Address,"  a  common  custom  at  that  time  of  some
newspapers.