Edgar
Rice Burroughs, Inc. is a California corporation that has been in existence
since March 26th, 1923. Both the corporation and the town in which it resides
-- Tarzana -- owe their existence to the imaginative talent and business
acumen of one man -- namely, Edgar Rice Burroughs.
In 1923, the idea of an author
incorporating himself seemed quite peculiar. More prestigious authors like
Mark Twain and Upton Sinclair had tried to publish their own novels, but
unlike these two giants Burroughs succeeded -- starting in 1931, when the
Great Depression was in full swing. This alone is a testament to Burroughs'
creative talents and the wide appeal of the Tarzan character.
But Edgar Rice Burroughs,
Inc. was not a mere vanity publisher. By 1923 Burroughs had written over
thirty novels, which had appeared in magazines, newspapers and book form
around the world. By 1923 there had been half a dozen film adaptations
of Burroughs' work. (The first sound Tarzan picture would appear in 1932
-- "Tarzan the Ape Man", with Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan
-- adding a new dimension to Burroughs' and Tarzan's popularity.) In 1929
a syndicated newspaper Tarzan comic strip would begin, penned by Hal Foster
who would later create "Prince Valiant." In 1932 Tarzan would take to the
airwaves in a weekly radio adventure show. In other words, Burroughs knew
he had a good thing, and by incorporating himself he was able to better
oversee an expanding and lucrative worldwide Tarzan empire. There is not
a facet of popular culture which Tarzan has not explored at one time or
another during the past eighty-some years, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.
continues to oversee the marketing of Mr. Burroughs' ever-popular creations.
 With
the advent of the Walt Disney Company's animated "Tarzan" in the summer
of 1999, a new generation of children (and their nostalgic parents) is
poised to rediscover the mighty ape-man. As a family-owned corporation,
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. is pleased that this new interpretation of the
Tarzan legend is coming from a company known world-wide as the leader in
family entertainment. In a very short time Tarzan will celebrate his one
hundredth year of literary life. Not a bad legacy for a man who didn't
think his first Tarzan story would amount to much.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.
P.O. Box 570277
Tarzana, CA 91357-0277
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