Rare Book Monthly

Articles - July - 2005 Issue

A Flair For the Dramatic -- Edgar Rice Burroughs

Tarzan Lord of the Jungle.

Tarzan Lord of the Jungle.


The first and early editions of his works continue to attract collectors and can vary widely in price, depending on condition. Some have been featured in recent catalogues on Americana Exchange. A first edition, with dustjacket of Tarzan the Terrible in very good condition recently sold on ebay for $999. It would have fetched much higher if it had been in better condition. A rare signed edition will usually attract the highest prices, although a signed first edition (no dustjacket, fair condition) of Tarzan and the Lost Empire was bid up to only $525 on ebay. Early artists of Burroughs book covers are also highly sought after, such as J. Allen St. John and Frank Frazetta, with renditions of athletic heroes and sultry women in exotic lands.

Even 55 years after his death, few authors continue to capture the imagination of readers of all ages quite like Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Carl Burnham can be reached online at www.SouthpointBooks.com

Rare Book Monthly

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    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
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    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
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  • Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
  • Heritage Auctions
    Rare Books Signature Auction
    December 15, 2025
    Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Bram Stoker. Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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