Mark Twain Father Christmas

This Father Christmas with a face reminiscent of Samuel Clemens has many symbols which relate to him:

• The coat has the night sky with Halley’s Comet, which came close to earth the year of Clemens’ birth and again at the time of his death in 1910. The black border is based on the book cover of “Life on the Mississippi.”
• The bag has the image of the octagon writing studio that Clemens used during his summers in Elmira, New York, which was built for him by his sister in law and her husband at their home “Quarry Farm.”
• He is carrying books that Clemens worked on in that studio: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, A Tramp Abroad, The Prince and the Pauper, Life on the Mississippi, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
• In his arm is Tammany one of Clemens beloved cats.
• The black umbrella represents the reenactment of Samuel Clemens’ funeral at the Woodlawn Cemetery in 2010. Participants were asked to use black umbrellas since it rained during his funeral in 1910.