Robert L. May wrote the iconic holiday story Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in
1939, as part of a holiday promotion for the Montgomery Ward department store. By 1945,
more than 5 million copies had been published.
Today, many early Rudolph-related artifacts, including copies of the original soft-covered
books from 1939, plush toys, and other personal items owned by Robert May are housed
at the Rauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College, in Hanover, NH.
Photo courtesy Rauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College.
In 1939, advertising copywriter Robert L. May published Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as part of a holiday promotion sponsored by the Montgomery Ward department store headquartered in Chicago, IL. In the decades since its publication, Rudolph has become an iconic holiday character featured in books, music, and television specials, recognized by millions of children (and adults) worldwide.
Raised in New Rochelle, NY, Robert L. May graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH (home to the Rauner Special Collections Library, which holds May's papers related to the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer). May moved to Chicago, IL, in the 1930s, where he worked as an advertising copywriter for the Montgomery Ward department store. Tasked with writing a Christmas book that could be given to the store's young visitors during the holidays, May chose a reindeer because his daughter liked the deer at the Chicago Zoo. Recalling the writing of the book years later, May noted that the idea for Rudolph's guiding red nose came after watching a fog bank from his office window. Despite initially rejecting the story, May's supervisors reconsidered after May resubmitted the story along with illustrations drawn by a friend in Ward's art department. Supervisors' initial misgivings about the story were quickly forgotten as Montgomery Ward distributed 2.4 million copies of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer during the 1939 holiday shopping season.
Following World War II, Montgomery Ward executives agreed to transfer its Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer copyrights to Robert May. In 1948, Max Fleischer directed an 8-minute animated short film based on May's poem as part of Montgomery Ward's holiday advertising. That same year, Johnny Marks—husband of Robert May's sister Margaret—wrote the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Singer Harry Brannon introduced the song to New York City, NY, radio listeners during a live performance in November 1949. After popular singers like Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore turned down the opportunity to record the song, cowboy-crooner Gene Autry released a recording of the holiday tune that rose to "Number 1" on the American pop music chart by January 1950. Montgomery Ward sponsored the re-release of the 1948 animated film featuring the Gene Autry version of Marks' song in 1951.
A Little Golden Books version of the Christmas story, illustrated by Richard Scarry, and comic books published in the 1950s were followed by one of the most popular adaptations of Rudolph's story—the 1964 stop-motion animated "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" television special. In the decades that followed, Rudolph and his glowing red nose appeared in holiday television specials, music, books, and even feature-length films.
In addition to two Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer sequels—Rudolph's Second Christmas and Rudolph Shines Again—Robert May wrote a number of other children's books prior to his death in 1976, including Benny the Bunny Liked Beans and Sam the Scared-est Scarecrow. Today, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is as much a part of holiday folklore as Santa Claus, Elf on a Shelf, Dr. Seuss' "Grinch," and the Ebeneezer Scrooge character from Charles Dickens' book A Christmas Carol. Thanks to Robert May's imagination, millions of children around the globe will sleep easier this month knowing that Rudolph is guiding Santa's sleigh.
You can learn more Robert L. May and his holiday story using census data and records. For example:
In 1948, animator and director Max Fleishcer produced and directed Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer—an 8-minute animated short film based on Robert May's poem—that
promoted the Montgomery Ward department store. Montgomery Ward released the film again in 1951 to include the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" written by
Johnny Marks and sung by Gene Autry.
The Library of Congress published the original 1948 film online in 2014.
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's County Business Patterns series, there were 509 doll, toy, and game manufacturing establishments (NAICS 33993) in the United States in 2017.
California led the nation with 86 manufacturers, followed by 28 in Illinois and 27 New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Many stores depend on holiday shoppers—like this family browsing window displays in Providence, RI, in December 1940—to finish the year with a profit. In 2016, the U.S. Census Bureau's Monthly Retail Trade Survey reported that jewelry stores earned 19.7 percent of their total annual sales in December 2016. Likewise, hobby, toy, and game stores earned 18.9 percent and department stores earned 21.9 percent of their annual sales during the final month of 2016.
The National Retail Federation reported that the average consumer spent more on winter holiday shopping ($1007.24) than any other spending event in 2018.
The National Retail Federation predicts retail sales during November and December 2019 will total $727.9 to $730.7 billion.