Once upon a time, children imagined St. Nicholas as a stern, skinny bishop who was as likely to dole out discipline as Christmas presents. But thanks to the anonymous publication of the poem Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas in the Troy Sentinal in 1823, a plumper, merrier St. Nick was born, transformed into the sleigh-riding, chimney-diving, jolly old elf we now call Santa Claus. Complemented by gorgeous monochrome illustrations that are meticulously true to pre-Victorian times, this definitive volume of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, honoring the poem's original language, is available in a compact gift edition.