The Christmas Book , published by M. Meulenhoff in Amsterdam in 1923, is an atmospheric and richly produced collection that brings the Christmas season to life in a warm and literary-refined way. The book is among the finest examples of early twentieth-century Dutch Christmas publications, in which art, poetry, and religious experience converge harmoniously.
The publication contains a collection of Christmas stories, poems, and reflections by various authors, supplemented with beautiful illustrations in the style of early Art Deco and the fin de siècle. Both in language and design, the book exudes the understated devotion and bourgeois warmth of the 1920s: Christmas as a time of reflection, simplicity, and domestic peace.
The binding is made of beautifully decorated linen with gold lettering, a characteristic of higher-quality Meulenhoff publications at the time. The interior is printed on thick, cream-colored paper and often features ornate border decorations or small woodcuts. Colored illustrations make the book even more special.
