Should have waited for Rudolph
This illustration might be the first visual reference to Santa's sleigh being pulled by a reindeer. It appears in "Old Santeclaus with Much Delight", an 1821 illustrated children's poem published in New York.
“A dwarf invented reindeer on his own.
He was Santa’s favorite. He
hadn't known
they already existed.’’
— From Landis Everson’s (1926-2007) "Before Christmas"