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The First and Only Weekly Online Fanzine Devoted to the Life and Works of Edgar Rice Burroughs
Issue 0647
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EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS 
LIBRARY EXHIBIT
St. Louis County Library
from the
Terry Klasek Collection
An ERBapa #80 Reprint
See the entire exhibit at the ERBzine 0647a Gallery
KAOR!!!!
A frosty hello this January to fellow APAns! This issue I am revisiting my November 2003 display of ERB material at the St. Louis County Library -- Florissant Valley branch. The display ran from my birthday on November 3rd through the 30th of November.

I used quite a few G&D hardcover, Ballantine and Ace paperbacks and various fanzines. The G&Ds were for readers of my father¹s generation, and the Ballantine and ACE paperbacks were for my those of my generation. I added several G&D juveniles with fanzines, biographies, and reference books to round out the display. I wrote a blurb that was part of the display, and is reprinted here. I had as a centerpiece an autographed pic of ERB from March 3ed, 1937. It is a very nice looking display, and I hope it opens the door to new readers, fans and collectors! As you will note I plugged many web sites, mailing lists, and fanzines. I hope participation increases.

I saw several patrons pointing to various books saying, ³I read that, and that, and that....² The library staff related many ERB books had been checked out, and some reference books were requested via inner-library loan. As I took down the display as person I see almost daily surfing the 8unternet asked for the essay that was part of my display. I gave it to him gladly.

So here is the blurb, and the photos, of my exhibit, ENJOY!!!!!!
Umgawa and all the best!!!!   Terry

Welcome to the Edgar Rice Burroughs Exhibit! 
By: 
Terry Klasek

Edgar Rice Burroughs (ERB) was born 01 September 1875, and was the son of a decorated Civil War veteran. He did not begin writing professionally until the age of 36. Prior to that he was a policeman, gold miner, trooper in the US 7th Cavalry, teacher, battery salesman, and a pencil sharpener salesman before turning to writing. In all his various jobs he was a failure, and then success exploded through his overly fertile imagination!

ERB is commonly referred to as the grandfather of modern science fiction, and his books are still actively read today. His first book, A Princess of Mars, was published in 1911 as was Tarzan of the Apes (his 3ed story). The last book published in his lifetime was in 1948 as ERB¹s health was rapidly deteriorating. ERB passed away reading the comics section of the newspaper on 19 March 1950.

To many fans Tarzan of the Apes, John Carter of Mars, David Innes and Dian the Beautiful in Pellucidar are as real as you or I! In fact many fans have tried their hands at forming chronologies of Tarzan¹s life with real birthdates.

Burroughs was a Master of Scientific Romance! Life on other planets fought bravely with swords rescuing the preverbal Princess in distress. What sets ERB apart is the humor interjected into his yarns. There were villains the reader loved to despise, and smiled at ERB¹s poking fun at the organized churches of the day.

In my opinion ERB¹s books are a Time Portal to the past, present, and future here, within the Earth, and on other planets. Several books being set in the 1915 to 1925 era giving us today an idea of what life was really like? Especially in the uglier side of life. Burroughs got his start writing for pulp magazines, which were the paperbacks of the day. They were popular between 1900 and 1954, and gave way to modern paperbacks and television for entertainment.

The upper shelves have hardcover editions of Burroughs¹ works from the 1920s, 1930s, and one from the 1940s. They are reprint editions made from the original first edition plates. Many have between 4 to 8 illustrations visually accenting the stories. Sadly, many paperbacks today are without illustrations. It is a real kick to see how some of the best (at that time) artists saw ERB¹s scenes!

The next shelves contain many of the initial paperbacks that erupted into bookstalls everywhere in the early 1960s. Ace (smaller books) and Ballantine (with its semi uniform editions drew thousands of new readers by fantastic artwork on the covers. Some Dover editions preceded them to start the ³Burroughs Boom² in 1962.

The Dover, Ballantine and Ace editions were made "politically correct" for readers of the time. While Tarzan is NOT a racist character (as many seem to believe) it is instructive to note that some of the characters in the books were. A librarian in California viewed ERB as a racist writer, and had all his books removed from the library shelves. This was followed by many libraries around the nation soon following.

The confusion all stems from the Tarzan films. The first Tarzan movie was in 1918, and ERB said he did not care what the producers did to his character. The result was a totally different Tarzan in movie theatres from the one in pulps and books! People were judging books without reading them using, instead, the films of 1918 through 1948! From the very beginning ERB or Tarzan fan clubs sprang up around the world! There are many fan clubs in existence now along with web sites, mailing lists, and Yahoo Groups where ERB fans talk about their love of ERB¹s words and stories, and anything new on the ERB scene.

Edgar Rice Burroughs had many jobs prior to taking up writing, and he failed at all of them! He was 36 when he wrote his first story A Princess of Mars, which was originally titled "Under the Moons of Mars." Because of that there is an Edgar Rice Burroughs Amateur Press Association that is limited to 36 active members. Each member must send at least two pages of ³original² material each quarterly issue. The many differing viewpoints of the same book never ceases to amaze me!

ERB was the first writer to incorporate himself, but had difficulty throughout his life living within his means. In order to get more of the profit of his works he decided to PRINT his books as well through ERB, inc. from 1932 through 1948. ERB¹s stories lapsed in the 1950s with only a few juvenile hardcover and two paperbacks seeing print. Then came the 1960s, and the incredible Burroughs explosion!

Throughout the remainder of the 1960s and the 1970s more titles were reprinted along with several biographies of ERB found along the bottom of the case. In 2000 and 2002 three more ERB books were published for the first time ever. ERB paperbacks appear sporadically with each new Tarzan TV series or movie, and the internet has drawn an incredible number of new fans to Burroughs. The magic is still there!

Fans now write chronologies of Tarzan as they see the timeline of a "real" person to be. The differences are not that many, but interesting nonetheless. Speculation of the date of Tarzan¹s birth is debated from what is stated in Tarzan of the Apes and questions of the age of Tarzan¹s son in the story Tarzan the Terrible has been the subject of "several creative" articles recently.

The books of Edgar Rice Burroughs are very easily acquired in second-hand book stores and through the Internet, and many are available through this library! Burroughs fans gather several times each year to talk, trade or purchase new items for collections, hear symposiums, and just have a great time together! The Burroughs Bibliophiles titles their conclave as "The Dum-Dum" the dance of the Great Apes from the Tarzan books. Small gatherings are held for ERB¹s birth, and wakes to commemorate his passing each year.

Many fans are unsatisfied with a lack of new ERB books so many have ventured into the world of pastiche writing. Numerous pastiches of ERB characters appear on several web sites, and some have been printed for sale. Some have been approved by ERB, inc. and published by Ballantine (Del Rey) books. Now Print on Demand books is gathering a significant following. Some fans just want more books for their collection! In addition to First editions, hardcover reprints and all the paperback reprints ERB fans collect comics, videos, DVDs, fan magazines toys, and a host of do-dads all related to Tarzan or other ERB creations. The scholarship appearing in the ³fanzines² is stunning! A wealth of information is there for the reading along with great, good, and fair fan artwork. They are labors of love rather than publishing perfection, and eagerly sought after by ERB fans. The success of the Print on demand books and some reprints are due to the lapse of copyrights on ERB books. Allowing some books to be printed without royalty payments despite the fact that they are sold for profit. There is talk of a movie version of A Princess of Mars being in the works in Hollywood now, which is fantastic news for the fans. With the advent of computer generated art and movies ERB can now be illustrated as ERB wrote them. The Martian books just were beyond the scope of film producers prior to 2000.

Since 1999 several small ³print on demand² publishers are coming out with new editions of ERB¹s public Domain tomes. Bison Press from the University of Nebraska has over a dozen titles thus far, and Jerry Schneider¹s ERBville Press is reproducing ERB's stories in their pulp versions.

Various paperback reissues have appeared, and Pat Adkins has published Tales of Love and Murder, which is a sampling of ERB¹s short stories not published previously. In a recent article longtime fan, J. G. Huckenpohler states that the past 10 years has seen the most productive for ERB fans with reissues and fan fiction!!

Just under 100 years after his first published story Edgar Rice Burroughs is still being published and read. The ranks of his fans are ever growing swelling the ranks lessened by the passing of the "old guard." Although ERB appeals mostly to boys and men the number of female readers is increasing especially online! Giving a fresh, different appreciation of ERB¹s stories. Type in an author search on the library computers, and you will be very surprized how many listings there are in the library¹s holdings!

Many different printing and editions are available to any person wanting to just read the stories. Some are free on Project Gutenberg and other web sites. If you want to read the ³original² version of ERB¹s books then you will have to collect the hardcover first and reprint editions or the new editions from University of Nebraska Press and the smaller print on demand publishers. Either way great tales are coming your way!


If you are interested in fan clubs devoted to Edgar Rice Burroughs here is a little list:

www.erblist.com   piloted by Bruce Bozarth
www.erbmania.com  another Bozarth site
www.ERBzine.com  Bill Hillman¹s MAMMOTH ERB Tribute Site
www.ERBzine.com/all ~ Bill Hillman's ERBzine Weekly Online Fanzine Archive
ERB-APA has websites:  www.erbzine.com/mag3/0328.html   ~   http://www.geocities.com/erbapa
The University of Louisville has an incredible ERB collection. The Mecca of ERB fandom!
 http://www.erbzine.com/mag1/0148.html
Internet ListServs:
erb-list@erblist.com
ERBCOF-L@LIST.APSU.EDU  (Edgar Rice Burroughs Chain of Friendship)
Several Yahoo Groups serve ERB fans. Just run a search through Google, etc.
Private e-mails flow between members outside the lists as well. ERB fans are the most friendly and helpful that I have encountered. Knowledge is shared freely, and fledgling collectors can discover a wealth of duplicates for sale or trade on the above lists.

FANZINES:
(Fan Magazines) Several fanzines are available at various rates. I have placed several of each title on the bottom shelf with mailing details. They are as follows:

The Burroughs Bibliophiles produce four issues of the Burroughs Bulletin and a monthly newsletter, The Gridley Wave for per year $35. They "feature" one ERB story per issue in chronological order.
www.erbzine.com/mag6/0650.html

ERBania  $9 for 4 issues from Pete Ogden in Florida at erbania@juno.com. Many back numbers are available.
ERB Collector $10 for 2 issue subscription from Bill Ross in Maryland. For the fanatic collector of all things ERB. whrjr@comcast.net
ERB NewsDateline $12 from Mike Conran in Michigan two ish sub. (TANAR@juno.com)
ERB News Beat from James van Hise in California $10 per year (six issues.) (jimvanhise@aol.com) Recently Revived.
The Fantastic Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs By Frank Westwood in the UK at: frankwestwood@onetel.net.uk. $24 for 4 issues. Sometimes issues may be combined.
ERBzine Weekly Online Fanzine. A new issue appears, free of charge, each Friday at: www.ERBzine.com/mag



In closing please enjoy looking at some of the books and items from my ERB collection. Give yourself a treat also by reading Edgar Rice Burroughs from this library. Discover sword fights, love, romance, lost cities where time has stood still, and legendary Opar, the lost colony of Atlantis in the middle of Africa. Opar is ruled by the sun worshipping high Priestess and Queen of Opar, the exotic LA. These books are NOTHING like the films so please do not read with pre-conceived notions!

I have started an ERB special interest group through MENSA locally. We have an online mailing list through Yahoo Groups, but I am in hopes of finding other Burroughs fanatics who would like to meet informally on a monthly basis to discuss what is new, show off old collectibles or new collectibles. Discussing one¹s hobby with other like minded people makes it all the more enjoyable! Please reach me at:

Terry Klasek
7449 Hazelcrest Drive Hazelwood,
Missouri 63042-2201   USA
taklasek@sbcglobal.net
(evharben@msn.com) Still in use too.
See the entire exhibit at the ERBzine 0647a Gallery

Issue 0647

BILL HILLMAN
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