Things were changing too fast, and Rockwell gave people nostalgic glimpses of the world they had left behind.

Favorite number 41

Early in his career Rockwell often painted period pieces that were quite blatantly Dickensian in inspiration. In this Christmas cover the man at the left of the group might be Mr. Pickwick himself. The boy is clearly a cousin of Oliver Twist, and it is not difficult to imagine Scrooge confronting the Ghost of Christmas Past in any of the buildings that form the background to this picture.