The Santa Claus man
Subtitle: the rise and fall of a Jazz Age con man and the invention of Christmas in New York
By: Alex Palmer
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 306
ISBN-13: 9781493008445
Subjects: United States; Social life and customs; Santa Claus Association, Inc. (New York, N.Y.); United States. Post Office Department; Swindlers and swindling; History; Charities; Biography; Christmas
Other titles: Rise and fall of a Jazz Age con man and the invention of Christmas in New York
Description: "Before the charismatic John Duval Gluck, Jr. came along, letters from New York City children to Santa Claus were destroyed, unopened, by the U.S. Post Office. Gluck saw an opportunity, and created the Santa Claus Association. The effort delighted the public, and for 15 years money and gifts flowed to the only group authorized to answer Santa's mail. Gluck became a Jazz Age celebrity, rubbing shoulders with the era's movie stars and politicians, and even planned to erect a vast Santa Claus monument in the center of Manhattan -- until Gotham's crusading charity commissioner discovered some dark secrets in Santa's workshop. The rise and fall of the Santa Claus Association is a caper both heartwarming and hardboiled, involving stolen art, phony Boy Scouts, a kidnapping, pursuit by the FBI, a Coney Island bullfight, and above all, the thrills and dangers of a wild imagination. It's also the larger story of how Christmas became the extravagant holiday we celebrate today, from Santa's early beginnings in New York to the country's first citywide Christmas tree and Macy's first grand holiday parade" --
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The Adventurers' Club; title: Appointed rounds; title: "To all a good night"; title: The most photographed man in the world; title: "Enemy, death, and a Christmas tree"; title: Cathedrals of commerce; title: Child wonderland; title: Doors to deception; title: Naughty list; title: German intrigue; title: Poor boy gets nothing; title: "Santa Claus as a business man and advertiser"; title: Order out of chaos; title: Spectacle on 34th Street; title: Dead letters; title: Epilogue: Operation Santa Claus.