Holiday Cheer: Chapter Two

Today we have another example of Bolles' Christmas themed covers, this a charming example from 1926.  Sorry about its condition but Snappy's just don't hold up very well.  The covers were done on cheap paper, the magazine was thicker than most other pulps and the binding was often overglued.  But beat up or not I just love to see Bolles' Snappy Stories. work. These covers reveal a relaxed aspect to his painting which had already begun to disappear from Film Fun.  And there's a narrative that you rarely see in his magazine art.  I'm assuming this illustration has something do to with the story but I've never managed to to read far enough into one to figure it out one way or another.  The art may be fresh but the text has gone stale.