TARZAN ON MARS
first edition
1954
by ( Bloodstone, John ) Byrne, Stuart J.
TARZAN ON MARS, N.p., (1954), just about fine in yellow textual wraps. Illustrated. This most controversial novel, the one ERB fans so wanted Burroughs to tackle himself, was written in 1954 (hence the date above) by pulp writer Stuart J. Byrne under the pseudonym John Bloodstone. The Burroughs family did their best to prevent this novel from being formally published and were somewhat successful. We say somewhat successful as there are numerous states of this book floating about in various formats and bindings that were all amateurishly published by Burroughs readers and fans. It appears that in the 1960's, copies of this novel began appearing and were highly coveted. Today, they still remain a bit of an enigma as to which copies were produced first and by who and when. A provenance might be determined on the publication of this copy and a seemingly good one it may be. On page 343, ERBDOM publisher Vernell Coriell of House of Greystoke, asks those interested in receiving a copy if they wish in on "a share the expense plan" at which time copies of this novel will be produced if at least 1/3 of the Burroughs Bibliophiles membership consider it has merit. We have no idea the outcome of this plea and what if any thing resulted from it. But we do know that this copy is not only illustrated, but printed on both the recto and verso, contains reviews, comments by Byrne himself as well as a glossary of terms. It would seem to indicate that such a copy may have been among the earliest copies produced, however, who can tell if our copy itself was not simply reproduced! Alas, we cannot. (Inventory #: 11772)