History of the Christmas Stocking Patent
The tradition of hanging Christmas stockings was born out of the folkloric tale of Saint Nicholas. In the tale, a nobleman, whose wife has died, is left penniless with no money for his children’s dowry. Hearing of the nobleman's troubles, Saint Nicholas came to their family home and filled the girls’ stockings, which were hanging above the fireplace to dry, with gold so they could marry.
In 1823, Clement Clark Moore of New York wrote The Night Before Christmas, a poem that mentions hanging Christmas stockings twice. The tradition continued to spread in popularity and became a centerpiece of Christmas celebrations through the mid-1800s.
However, in 1883, a New York Times article claimed that the newly introduced Christmas tree was beginning to overshadow the tradition of hanging stockings. One drawback that many found with stockings is that some were too small to fit everyone’s presents while some were far too large to fill. The elastic Smith Stocking took the difficulty out of selecting the proper stocking size, but was also overshadowed by the convenience of leaving presents under the Christmas tree.
In 1889, S. H. Howe filed one of the first modern US patents with an ornamental stocking design. Since his filing is so old, little is known about the details of his claim.
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