When author Bob May '26 was working
up his concept of the little reindeer with the
red nose, he jotted down a list of names.
Rollo had potential. Better was Reginald or
Rudolfh, both of which he circled. Eventually
May changed the spelling, and Rudolph
took flight as the most famous reindeer of all.
Working as a copywriter for the now defunct catalog merchant Montgomery Ward, May wrote the reindeers story in 1939 for a giveaway Christmas booklet. Pictured on these pages is a spread from that original booklet and the cover for a prototype of the book, along with May's handwritten list of potential reindeer monikers. These items now reside in Rauner Library's climate-controlled storage room.
