Santa Claus American cartoonist of the 19th century. In 1863, a picture of Santa illustrated by Nast appeared in "Harper's Weekly". Thomas Nast immortalized Santa Claus with an illustration for the 3 January 1863 issue of "Harper's Weekly". Santa was dressed in an American flag, and had a puppet with the name "Jeff" written on it, reflecting its Civil War context. The story that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole may also have been a Nast creation. His Christmas image in the "Harper's" issue dated 29 December 1866 was a collage of engravings titled "Santa Claus and His Works", which included
Thomas Nast Joseph Keppler was in vogue. Health problems, which included pain in his hands which had troubled him since the 1870s, affected his ability to work. In 1892, he took control of a failing magazine, the "New York Gazette", and renamed it "Nast's Weekly". Now returned to the Republican fold, Nast used the "Weekly" as a vehicle for his cartoons supporting Benjamin Harrison for president. The magazine had little impact and ceased publication seven months after it began, shortly after Harrison's defeat. The failure of "Nast's Weekly" left Nast with few financial resources. He received a few commissions for oil paintings