A PRINCESS OF MARS

Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1917. First edition. Three line gift inscription in ink dated 1917 on front free endpaper. Orange enamel stamping on front cover a bit dull but fully present, top edge of pages dusty, a nearly fine copy. Nice copies of this book are uncommon. No dust jacket. (19956). Octavo, pp. [i-vi] vii-xii [xiii-xvi] 1-326 [327] [328: blank], five inserted plates with illustrations by Frank E. Schoonover, original dark brown cloth, front and spine panels stamped in orange. The first book of the Mars series. Burroughs' first published story (written in 1911) and his only story to originally appear under a pseudonym. The story first appeared under the byline "Norman Bean" (he had intended that pen name be "Normal Bean") as a six-part serial "Under the Moons of Mars" in a Munsey magazine, THE ALL-STORY, February-July 1912. This novel preceded the first publication of "Tarzan of the Apes," published in the October 1912 issue of THE ALL-STORY. This popular novel inspired numerous writers and influenced the space faring sword and raygun stories as well as influencing scientists and filmakers. "...this pioneering account of John Carter's magical transmission to the the planet Mars and his subsequent baroque adventures established a new template for fiction set on other planets, developing such imaginative spaces as arenas for exuberantly uninhibited tales of exotic derring-do ... Although it hardly qualifies as science-based speculative fiction, Burroughs's account of Barsoom was enormously influential in pulp SF, standing at the head of a rich subgenre of 'planetary romances' whose evolution was carried forward by such writers as C. L. Moore, Leigh Brackett, and Ray Bradbury." - Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-194. Made into a feature film in 2012 as "John Carter." Anatomy of Wonder (1976) 2-31; (1981) 1-31; (1987) 1-17; and (1995) 1-17. Barron (ed), Fantasy Literature 3-61. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years 304. Cawthorn and Moorcock, Fantasy: The 100 Best Books 25. Clareson, Science Fiction in America, 1870s-1930s 115. Survey of Science Fiction Literature IV, pp. 1720-25. In 333. Bleiler (1978), p. 35. Reginald 02307. Heins PM-1.