Rudolph first appeared in a 1939 booklet written by Robert L. May and published by Montgomery Ward.
In 1939, May was assigned to create a coloring book for Chicago based Montgomery Ward. The retailer had been buying coloring books for Christmas every year to give away as a Christmas promotional; it was decided that creating their own book would save money. May considered many other names for his reindeer "Rollo" and "Reginald" finally deciding on the name "Rudolph." In the first year of publication Montgomery Ward distributed, 2.5 million copies of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Maxton Books was the first to publish Rudolph in a mass-market edition of Rudolph, and went on to publish a sequel, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Shines Again in 1954. In 1991 Applewood Books published Rudolph's Second Christmas, an unpublished sequel that Robert May wrote in 1947. In 2003, Penguin Books issued a reprint version of the original Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with new artwork by Lisa Papp. Penguin also reprinted May's sequels Rudolph Shines Again andRudolph's Second Christmas (now retitled Rudolph to the Rescue).
Today we have many publications of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. To name a few:
· Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Pop-Up Book Sep 23, 2014 by Lisa Marsoli and Keith Andrew Finch
· Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Sep 30, 2014 by Robert L. May and Antonio Javier Caparo
· Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) (Little Golden Book) Aug 1, 2000 by Rick Bunsen and Arkadia
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Oct 1, 1990 by Robert May and Denver Gillen
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer came to life, December 6, 1964. As a Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin/Bass and sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour.
This Christmas there is a brand new edition of the movie:
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer: 50th Anniversary Burl Ives (Actor), Billy Mae Richards (Actor), Larry Roemer (Director).
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