Christmas Past [Hardcover]

Barbara Kissinger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2005

More than 200 colorful illustrations, dating from the Victorian age through the early twentieth century, celebrate Christmas traditions of years gone by. These beautiful illustrations, which originally appeared in calendars, advertisements, and greeting cards from across the United States and Europe, recall the wholesome holidays of simpler times. Nostalgic images of angels, St. Lucia, Yule logs, and wassailing are only some of the treasures selected from the more than 1,300 items in the author's own collection of vintage Christmas books and ephemera.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Gift book full of Yuletide history.

About the Author

Barbara Hallman Kissinger, a resident of Burlington, Iowa, has had a long career in the crafts and collectibles field, in particular, those relating to Christmas. She designed and marketed her own line of wooden folk-art Santas that were sold in thirty states. Her other design projects include embroidery patterns for VSM Sewing, Inc. and wooden craft items for Better Homes and Gardens . In addition to researching and collecting materials about the history of Christmas, Ms. Kissinger, dressed as Mrs. Claus, has given holiday presentations to schoolchildren. She is also the author of Christmas Past, published by Pelican.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing (October 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589803566
• ISBN-13: 978-1589803565
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #697,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #35 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Postcards

More About the Author

I had always wanted to write but raising a family of five children with my husband took my time besides the time I had for an art freelance career over the last 32 years. I was a fine artist and a craftsperson, who made a line of folk art santas from 1983 to 1990s and sold them in a 100 stores in 30 states. I have also designed wooden folk art for Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest publications in the 90s and I also designed machine embroidery for Viking Sewing Machine Co. into 2003. Then I decided in my late 60s I would get to writing about Christmas History. My first book "Christmas Past" was a book packed with Christmas traditions and customs. That came out in 2005 and is still selling very well. Then in 2007 I came out with "Christmas Merrymaking". My publisher is Pelican Publishing of Gretna, Louisiana. That included more Christmas traditions and customs of the merrymaking of the last few centuries. It won the 2008 PMA Benjamin Franklin Award for Gift/format,small books. Then in 2008 my book "Mother Goose of Yesteryear" came out in the fall. So I am keeping very busy writing and hope to come out with another book on Thanksgiving in a year or so. So I am now 76 and still writing and loving it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A keeper, August 22, 2007

By 

Fahtimah (Richmond, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Christmas Past (Hardcover)

Wallowing in happy Christmas memories has caused me to start buying books of this nature. Although several times the narrative has been similar in various books, this one stands out not only for the concise text, but the beautiful graphics and selection of images. The country by country detail of traditions was really nice.

I put my little heap of Christmas books beside me, fix a cup of hot cocoa, crank up the air conditioning, and sink happily into a winter wonderland of Christmas in August!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars christmas past, December 13, 2007

By 

Gregory (Carroll, IA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Christmas Past (Hardcover)

I bought this book for my 95 year-old mother-in-law for Chistmas this year. We told her to open it as soon as it was delivered to her so she could get in the Christmas spirit. She told me she is enjoying this book so much! She especially likes the stories of Christmas in other countries and the beautiful illustrations. One of these pictures reminded her of a postcard send to her when she was young. This brought back some fond memories for her. Maybe she'll let me borrow it now!