The Warlord of Mars; Frontispiece by J. Allen St. John

Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co, 1919. First Edition, First Printing. Cloth. Near fine/very good. First edition, first printing of The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs in the publisher's scarce first state dust jacket.. Octavo, 296pp, [8pp ads]. Red cloth, title in gilt on spine and front cover. Currey's state A, with A.C. McClurg & Co. printed in three lines on spine and full printer's slug on bottom of copyright page. Stated "Published September, 1919" on copyright page. Solid text block, top edge foxed, bumped corners, a near fine example. Previous ownership inscription in pencil on front free endpaper. In the publisher's first state dust (truncated) jacket, $1.40 retail price on spine. Small losses to corners, short closed tears along spine previously reinforced with archival tape, faint foxing to verso. Panels lightly soiled, illustrations remain clear and vibrant. (Currey 94) (Bleiler 36) (Reginald 02342) (Zeuschner 829) A nice copy in a bright dust jacket. Housed in a custom cloth clamshell with title in gilt on morocco label affixed to spine and marbled interior. The Warlord of Mars is the third novel in Edgar Rice Burrough's Barsoom series, preceded by A Princess of Mars and The Gods of Mars. The primary novel in the series is considered "a seminal text in the early science fiction canon, inspiring a slew of imitators and even a pair of related genres." (Junot Diaz) Many of Burrough's early works were serialized in The All-Story Magazine, with A Princess of Mars originally printed with the title "Under the Moons of Mars" under his pseudonym, Norman Bean. The Warlord of Mars was published in four parts for All-Story Magazine from December 1913 through March 1914, before the complete A.C. McClurg novel was released in September, 1919. (Inventory #: 14592)