Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.
 

Tarzana Ranch ~ Early 1920s

Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. is a California family-owned 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 and the John Carter of Mars movie now in production by Paramount, new generations are rediscovering the mighty ape-man and ERB's other creations. 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

The ERB, Inc. Offices Today
A jungle oasis on busy Ventura Boulevard
Tarzana, California

The Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs

 

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