Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer By Robert L May

The Original Rudolph Story vs. Everything Else

Robert L. May wrote Rudolph in 1939 to fill the back of a Montgomery Ward Christmas coloring book. That's it. The whole origin is corporate promotional material. The original booklet had no song lyrics, no Mrs. Claus, and the ending was slightly different from what most people know. If you're looking at Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer By Robert L May, you need to know which version you're dealing with, because they're not the same thing. The booklet May wrote and the song Johnny Marks wrote in 1949 are two completely separate works. People confuse them constantly, and it matters if you're trying to do anything legal with the material.

Understanding Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer By Robert L May

The May booklet is public domain. The Johnny Marks song is still under copyright. This distinction trips up everyone at least once, usually when someone finds a PDF online and assumes the whole thing is free to adapt. The original booklet is 12 pages. May wrote it quickly to meet a corporate deadline and used characters from his earlier work. He was a copywriter at Montgomery Ward, and his boss asked him to come up with a Christmas character to compete with the other ones the company was handing out. May created Rudolph based loosely on a character from his previous storybook, "Melting Hearts in the North." The red nose detail came from a brief mentioning a reindeer with a shiny nose in one of his earlier drafts. The story itself is straightforward. A young reindeer with a glowing red nose is excluded from reindeer games. When heavy fog grounds the Santa flight, Rudolph's nose becomes essential, and he is celebrated. It's simple enough that people often underestimate it, but the structure is actually quite tight for what it is.

Where to Find the Original

The May booklet exists in the public domain and can be found on Project Gutenberg, the Internet Archive, and various digitized collections. The original illustration is by Rudolf Dienter, not the later famous illustrations by Mark Seney or others. If you see bright red noses and overly cheerful reindeer, you're looking at a later adaptation, not May's version. I've spent time cross-referencing digitized copies against the original Montgomery Ward print run. A lot of the PDFs floating around are actually scans of later reprints or compilations that mix in song lyrics and images from the 1964 Rankin/Bass special. If you want the actual Robert L. May text, you need to verify the source. Check that it has 12 pages, the Dienter illustrations, and no mention of Clarice or the song lyrics.

What the Song Changed

Johnny Marks, who was May's brother-in-law, wrote the song in 1949 after hearing about the character. The song added Clarice, changed the narrative emphasis, and basically made Rudolph into a cultural phenomenon far beyond the coloring book. The song is still copyrighted and managed by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, so licensing is required for commercial use. One thing people don't realize: the original story does not describe the nose as glowing. It just says the nose was red. The "glow" description came later through performance tradition and animation. If you're doing anything with the text faithfully, stick to what May actually wrote.

Common Pitfalls

The biggest issue I've seen is people mixing sources without realizing the copyright status changes mid-project. You might start with the public domain booklet, then add illustrations or lyrics from the song version, and suddenly you've created a derivative work that sits in a copyright gray area. If you're creating new artwork, merchandise, or adaptations, keep the source materials clearly separated. Use the May text freely. Use the Marks lyrics only if you obtain proper licensing. Another problem is the illustration rights. Even though the text is public domain, specific illustrations may not be. The Dienter illustrations from the original booklet are also public domain since they were published before 1930, but later artists' versions are not. I learned this the hard way when someone tried to repurpose a vintage illustration for a business project and got a cease and desist from an estate that held rights to a specific 1948 edition's artwork.

Practical Guidance

If you want to use the May version for personal projects, readings, or educational purposes, you're generally safe. The public domain status means no permissions are needed for the text. For commercial use, the text itself is still free, but you should verify the specific edition you're working from hasn't been republished with new copyrighted material tacked on. Some modern editions include introductions or notes that are separately copyrighted. The original booklet is short enough that reading it takes about three minutes. It's worth doing if you've only ever encountered the song or the animated special. The tone is quieter, less sentimental, and the pacing is different. It reads more like a workplace assignment than a timeless classic, which is honestly kind of interesting when you think about it.