Books like The Santa Claus man by Alex Palmer


In the early 20th century, John Duval Gluck, Jr. discovered that the U.S. Post Office had been destroying letters from New York City children addressed to Santa Claus. Seizing the opportunity, he founded the Santa Claus Association, the first group legally authorized to answer Santa’s mail. For fifteen years the association became a beloved public institution, channeling money and gifts to children and earning Gluck a reputation as a Jazz‑Age celebrity who mingled with movie stars and politicians. Gluck even planned a grand Santa Claus monument at Manhattan’s center, but a charity commissioner uncovered sordid secrets in the organization’s workshop. The book chronicles the Association’s meteoric rise and dramatic fall—its involvement in stolen art, phantom Boy Scouts, a kidnapping, an FBI hunt, and a Coney Island bullfight—while also explaining how Christmas evolved into America’s most celebrated holiday, from New York’s early Santa lore to the citywide Christmas tree and Macy’s inaugural holiday parade.
First publish date: 2016
Genre: Biography & Autobiography/Biography
Authors: Alex Palmer
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The Santa Claus man by Alex Palmer

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