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Published by MONTGOMERY WARD AND CO, U.S.A., 1939
Seller: Princeton Antiques Bookshop, Atlantic City, NJ, U.S.A.
PAPER BACK RED. Condition: GOOD. GILLEN, DENVER (illustrator). THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF RUDOLPH IN PRINT Very Fragile, Very Rare Special printing done by Montgomery Ward Original pictorial wrappers. Construction and materials similar to comic books of the era. sunned, small chip to front wrapper, saddle-stapled, illustrated in four colors, there are 4 propellers on the plane. As the holiday season of 1938 came to Chicago, Bob May wasn t feeling much comfort or joy. A 34-year-old ad writer for Montgomery Ward, May was exhausted and nearly broke. His wife, Evelyn, was bedridden, on the losing end of a two-year battle with cancer. This left Bob to look after their four-year old-daughter, Barbara. One night, Barbara asked her father, "Why isn t my mommy like everybody else s mommy?" As he struggled to answer his daughter s question, Bob remembered the pain of his own childhood. A small, sickly boy, he was constantly picked on and called names. He began to spin a tale about a reindeer with a bright red nose who found a special place on Santa s team. Barbara loved the story so much that she made her father tell it every night before bedtime. As he did, it grew more elaborate. Because he couldn t afford to buy his daughter a gift for Christmas, Bob decided to turn the story into a homemade picture book. In early December, Bob s wife died. Though he was heartbroken, he kept working on the book for his daughter. A few days before Christmas, he reluctantly attended a company party at Montgomery Ward. His co-workers encouraged him to share the story he d written. After he read it, there was a standing ovation. Everyone wanted copies of their own. Montgomery Ward bought the rights to the book from their debt-ridden employee. Over the next six years, at Christmas, they gave away six million copies of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to shoppers. Every major publishing house in the country was making offers to obtain the book. In an incredible display of good will, the head of the department store returned all rights to Bob May. Four years later, Rudolph had made him into a millionaire. Now remarried with a growing family, May felt blessed by his good fortune. But there was more to come. His brother-in-law, a successful songwriter named Johnny Marks, set the uplifting story to music. The song was pitched to artists from Bing Crosby on down. They all passed. Finally, Marks approached Gene Autry. The cowboy star had scored a holiday hit with "Here Comes Santa Claus" a few years before. Like the others, Autry wasn t impressed with the song about the misfit reindeer. Marks begged him to give it a second listen. Autry played it for his wife, Ina. She was so touched by the line "They wouldn t let poor Rudolph play in any reindeer games" that she insisted her husband record the tune. Within a few years, it had become the second best-selling Christmas song ever, right behind "White Christmas." Since then, Rudolph has come to life in TV specials, cartoons, movies, toys, games, coloring books, greeting cards and even a Ringling Bros. circus act. The little red-nosed reindeer dreamed up by Bob May and immortalized in song by Johnny Marks has come to symbolize Christmas as much as Santa Claus, evergreen trees and presents. As the last line of the song says, "He ll go down in history." DATE PUBLISHED: 1939 EDITION: 16.
Published by Published by Publicity Products LTD., London,, 1950
Seller: Ivy hole books, Uckfield, United Kingdom
Book First Edition
Soft cover. Condition: Fine. No Jacket. 1st Edition. Oblong landscape with plastic spring binding. Cover has a crease but is in tact and in good order. Colour is bright with minimal rubbing.to covers. This is a fine copy of an increasingly rare title. All pop ups are in tact and in very good order. No loss and colours are good throughout.The binding is sound, which is s miracle after 73 years. I bought this in Second childhood, New York, in the early nineties and have other Christmas items from this landmark store.This is a UK imprint. A very good copy. The story to be frank is a bit ponderous but the illustrations are of another simpler era and this book evokes the charm of that long gone epoch.
Published by Adprint / Maxton, 1939
Seller: Fantastic Book Discoveries, Cockeysville, MD, U.S.A.
Soft cover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. spiral softcover with some minor wear to laminate cover, 5 panels of pop ups all present, early edition with no later dates after 1939, "Adprint , London by arrangement with Maxton".
Published by Montgomery Ward & Co., 1939
Seller: A Squared Books (Don Dewhirst), South Lyon, MI, U.S.A.
Softcover. Condition: Fair. Early Printing. 1939. Poor condition; reading copy. Original paper covers chipped along edges and detached from text; stapled binding; short tears at spine; one short tear in top edges; pages toned; illustrated throughout; no internal markings.Photos available upon request.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Pub by Maxton Publishers, "Maxton Books for Little People," 1939, NAP. Has 4-engine airplane on page 6. NOT exLib. VG+ or better cond. hardcover, no dj. Red glossy bds w/ full color pict dec & lettering on front cover, & black lettering on spine. Spine-lean to lower half (does not adversely affect binding,) o/w book is complete, intact & unmarked. Bright & colorful illustrations throughout. Unpaginated, approx 30pp. Square, straight, tight, bright & clean, overall VG+ or better cond. Same or next day shipping. Please email any questions.
Published by Spring House, Springfield, Mass, 1950
Seller: Jeffrey H. Marks, Rare Books, ABAA, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.
Illustrations by Marion Guild, including five pop-up illustrations in fine condition. Oblong large 8vo, publisher's plastic comb-bound stiff wrappers illustrated in color. Later edition. Light use to the wrappers; contents fine.
Red Boards. Condition: good. First Edition.
Published by Maxton Publishers: NY, 1950
Seller: John K King Used & Rare Books, Detroit, MI, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Color illus. by Marion Guild, oblong 8 x 10.5", plastic-comb bound pict stiff wraps, unpaginated, front cover delaminating, edges a bit worn, some of the five full-page pop-ups appear to be a little tired, but overall no tears or ink writing; a decently preserved piece. No Island of Misfit Toys, but still a good story.
Publication Date: 1939
Seller: 4 THE WORLD RESOURCE DISTRIBUTORS, Springfield, MO, U.S.A.
Pamphlet. Condition: Poor. Gillen, Denver (illustrator). very worn, front cover tattered. Size: 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall.
Published by Adprint Limited, 1939
Seller: Little Owl Books, Norwich, NORFO, United Kingdom
Book
Hardcover. Condition: Fair. Oversized hard cover, pictorial red bds with Rudolph and the sleigh, Fair, spine has paper covering missing, bd edges rubbed, faint scribble to upper bd in biro, corners rubbed and lower rear has crease, front hinge loose inside but holding, ffep/half title/title pges missing, starts at beginning of story, first pge has blue pencil scribble otherwise contents clean and bright with lovely colour illustrations, certain words are underlined in red by publisher, unpaginated.