Everyone has heard the great American folk legend of Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox. But I have heard that Paul Bunyan is nothing more than the invention of a lumber company–a corporate logo no more mythological than Mr. Clean or the Pillsbury Doughboy. I’ve tried searching this on the Internet, and I’ve found some sites that claim that the Red River Lumber Company did indeed create the character, whereas others say the company just took the legend and used it in their ads. You seem to be the man who knows his stuff, and I figure if anyone can come up with a definitive answer to this question it’s you. –Andrew Micak
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The Paul Bunyan tales have been described as “fakelore,” or “a slender vein of oral anecdote” embellished by copywriters for low commercial ends. That’s putting it a little harshly–the stories are a cut above the usual promotional puffery. Still, there’s no denying the truth: Most of the Paul Bunyan yarns, commonly thought of as tall tales spun by loggers during winter evenings in the north woods, were actually the work of inspired hacks.
The first two Paul Bunyan pamphlets, in 1914 and 1916, enjoyed only modest success, but the third, in 1922, was a hit and brought the giant lumberjack international fame. Additional Bunyan pamphlets appeared sporadically until the company went out of business in the 1940s. Red River trademarked a Paul Bunyan image described as looking like “Shirley Temple with a mustache.” But neither it nor Laughead ever copyrighted the stories, which were distributed for free.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): illustration/Slug Signorino.
