Today, the March of Progress in Santa Transportation Technology, using cartoons from one page of a Victorian/Pre-Depression I Christmas Comics book I put together, for which the publishing deal fell through.

As we can see by these cartoons, Santa is constantly looking to improve on his methods of Christmas Toy Delivery. By replacing his apparently time old method of faster-than-light time-travelling quantum reindeers with… automobiles that frequently break down??? (Hey, you’ve got to experiment to progress — that’s Science!)

Above, from the December 26th, 1896 issue of Punch magazine, we have Father Christmas Up-to-Date, by artist John Tenniel.

Click on the above & below pictures, to view the cartoons in detail, and read their captions.

Beneath, from the December 20th, 1906 issue of Life magazine, we have one of numerous Santa Auto Mishaps, this by Harrison Cady.

Above & below, more auto breakdowns involving that new-fangled vehicle. Above, Why Santa Was Late, by T.S. Sullivant, from a December 1907 issue of Judge magazine. Below, Why Some Children Didn’t Get Their Presents, from the December 2nd, 1901 issue of Life, by Charles Dana Gibson.

Finally, smartening up below, Santa Takes His Reindeer In Case of Emergency, by Frank Nankivell, from the 1903 Life Christmas issue.

Doug Wheeler

Christmas Comics BritPunch NYLife JudgeMag