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The Wellcome Collection, which JSTOR Daily wrote about last year, contains over 105,000 items accessible digitally. While readers may know of the Wellcome museum and its extensive holdings on the history of medicine, Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome collected much more broadly throughout his life. Here, we present just a few of the holiday images in the online collection. This is only a small sampling of what’s available — you can browse the entire collection here.

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A fruit trader’s stall at Christmas. Colour lithograph by Gatti and Dura
A selection of puddings: N1: Raised Pie, O1:Vol-au-vent, P1: Christmas Plum Pudding in Mould, Q1: Apples in Custard, R1: Charlottes aux Pommes from The book of household management by Mrs Beeton
Saint Nicholas of Myra and Bari. Watercolour painting by W. Brindley, 1881. Usually depicted as a bishop, since he was bishop of Myra in Asia Minor. His relics were transferred to Bari in Italy in 1087. His body was believed to secrete a perfumed myrrh (the manna of St. Nicholas) which pilgrims to the Holy Land would collect in leaden flasks before leaving Italy. As a result, he was the patron saint of guilds of perfumers, apothecaries and spicers. Other legends associated with his name led to his reputation as “Father Christmas.”
An undertaker drops in to give Christmas and New Year wishes to a sick man. Coloured lithograph, ca. 1830
Coloured porcelain figures of the three Magi. Colour photograph, 1948.
One child holds a large bunch of holly and two others watch as a young woman stands on a chair to reach the picture she is decorating for Christmas.
Advertisement for Borwick’s Baking Powder showing Father Christmas carrying a large Christmas pudding on a tray. The head of Father Christmas is movable
The Evelina Hospital, Southwark: a mother and daughter visiting a small boy, 1882, after C. J. Staniland
Insert from Foundation News – Christmas Painting Competition
Four dogs at table waiting for Christmas dinner to be served, surrounded by eight vignettes of Christmas. Etching by F. Paton.

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