Thackeray, William Makepeace. (1811 - 1863)
"Placing the Stocking for Santa Claus" - Original Drawing
A two-scene pen-and-ink drawing by Thackeray, depicting on the left a gathering of children around a chair "Placing the stocking for Santa Claus" and on the right a family gathering with dolls and gifts labeled "Xmas presents." Unsigned, approx. 11.5 x 9 cm, simply matted and framed to 24 x 22 cm. Unexamined out of frame, in apparently fine condition.Although best known for his 1848 novel Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray was not always a writer. After college and a brief stint studying law, he moved to Paris to try his hand as a painter. Gambling and unsuccessful business ventures decimated his inherited fortune, however, and Thackeray was forced to move to London, where he supported his new wife by becoming a journalist. Despite a career change, Thackeray did not forget his artistic background and illustrated a number of his own novels, including various Christmas books. Like Dickens, Thackeray wrote yearly Christmas books from 1847-1850, his last, The Rose and the Ring, appearing in 1855. It is very possible that the present sketch was originally intended for one of these volumes though we are unaware of this one having actually been published. (11390)
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