Burroughs, Edgar Rice (1917) ‘A Princess of Mars’, scarce US Advance Reading copy

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1917) ‘A Princess of Mars’, US Advance Review Copy, published by McClurg. Softcover, reproducing Frank E. Schoonover illustration for the trade edition, 18,6×12,5 cm., 327 pp. Housed in brown leather clamshell case stamped in gilt.

Condition: The book is reasonably square and tight, colours are still bright and pages generally surprisingly white given the age of the copy. Moderate edgewear; dampstaining to the top edge of the lower wrapper extending to top edge of rear endpapers; lower corner of the upper wrapper lightly creased; spine partially perished; light soiling, some gutters overextended.

Provenance: this copy was part of the Frank collection and later of the Gary Munson collection.

The first of the Martian novels, The Princess of Mars first saw print in a shorter form in All-Story magazine as “Under the Moons of Mars” in 1912. When the novel was finally printed in book form, McClurg had already published four of Burroughs’ Tarzan books and was advertising the Princess of Mars in their catalog as “an absorbing tale of adventure and romance forty-three million miles from Earth. It is hardly too much to say that it is the boldest piece of imaginative fiction in this generation. The story is full of weird and astounding adventures written by an author bold enough to create Tarzan, the Apeman” (Heins). According to Burroughs’ bibliographer and scholar Robert B. Zeuschner it is “a profoundly seminal work” (Zeuschner. ERB The Bibliography, p. 249). It had a huge influence on authors like Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein, and filmmakers like James Cameron’s Avatar, and a plethora of pop culture icons such as comic hero Flash Gordon. A Princess of Mars served as basis for the 2012 film adaptation John Carter, directed by Andrew Stanton.

The “advance sheets”, as Burroughs himself liked to describe this paperback pre-publication format, was probably intended to make available early review copies for the major newspapers. It is exceptionally rare. Even the Edgar Rice Burroughs Memorial Collection lacks a copy.

A very good or better copy of a Burroughs rarity.