{"product_id":"a-visit-from-st-nicholas","title":"A Visit From St Nicholas","description":"\u003ch3\u003eDescription for A VISIT FROM ST NICHOLAS ('TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS) by Clement C Moore and illuminated by Mary C Ogden, daughter of Clement C Moore:\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe was a classical scholar, a generous philanthropist, devoted husband, father of nine, and author of a host of \"serious\" poems.  A quiet, unassuming man, Clement Clarke Moore's eulogy described him as a \"large-minded scholar and an open-handed Christian...content to be overlooked by the world.,\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet history had other ideas, for one December day in 1822 Moore sat down to create what would become one of the first \"American children's classics.\"  Written to delight his own children at Christmastime, Moore's poem \"A Visit From St Nicholas: has established our modern vision of Santa Claus as a \"jolly old elf\" dressed in red---arriving on the roof with a reindeer-drawn sleigh and slipping down the chimney with gifts on Christmas Eve!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSanta Claus' modern creator was born into comfortable circumstances in New York City on July 15, 1779.  Clement C Moore's father, the Reverend Benjamin Moore, was the second Episcopal Bishop of New York and---for a time---the President of King's College (later Columbia College and Columbia University).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eClement Moore grew up an only child in Chelsea Mansion, enjoying the tutelage of his father and a grand education at Columbia College, from which he graduated in 1798.  The family's wealth meant that the young Moore felt no pressure to earn a living, so he threw his energies into intellectual pursuits.  An enthusiastic scholar of literature and philosophy, he wrote a definitive lexicon of the Hebrew language.  Moore also played several musical instruments and dabbled in writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLater in life, Moore became a professor of Oriental and Greek Literature at what was later called the General Theological Seminary.  He became so devoted to the seminary that he donated a prime parcel of land from his New York inheritance as the site of the school's campus.  Moore lived the last years of his life in the elegant resort town of Newport, Rhode Island, where he died on July 10, 1863.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSurely Moore would be amazed to know that today---nearly 175 years after it was written---\"A Visit From St Nicholas\" reigns as the definitive Christmas poem.  Millions of children and adults alike can recite its delightful, easy-rhyming couplets.  Illustrators from Thomas Nast to the present day have used Moore's description of Santa, his reindeer, his sleigh and even his soot-stained costume as inspiration for their visions of St. Nick.  And now this new volume pays honor to the poem that has charmed people all over the world---with the charming illustrations of Moore's own beloved daughter, Mary Ogden.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Connies Bookshelf","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49960685633752,"sku":"","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0648\/9099\/4904\/files\/AVisitFromStNicholasOgden.jpg?v=1736862028","url":"https:\/\/conniesbookshelf.com\/products\/a-visit-from-st-nicholas","provider":"Connies Bookshelf","version":"1.0","type":"link"}