“You
can become an expert at anything, if you put your mind to it, in 10 years.”
Those words were the beginning of an odyssey that has lasted more than
six decades. That simple statement began a treasure hunt that continues
to this day, having passed from one generation to the next, and which has
led to the amassment of one of the finest art collections in the Brazos
Valley. That controversial statement, made by Stanleigh B. Vinson during
a friendly debate, spawned a bet in which Vinson promised to become the
world’s authority on Edgar Rice Burroughs. Though the details of the bet
have become obscured by time, the outcome has not. Vinson won the bet.
He did, in fact, become an authority on Edgar Rice Burroughs.
He amassed an incredible collection of Burroughs memorabilia,
including first edition texts, original artwork, toys, newspaper clippings
and movie posters. He also befriended James Allen St. John, the artist
responsible to illustrating more than half of Burroughs’ books. From that
friendship sprang a wealth of collectibles, oil paintings that were the
original cover art for such Burroughs books as “Tarzan,” “The Warlord of
Mars” series and “At the Earth’s Core.”
It also forged a bond between the two men, borne of the
mutual admiration of both the artwork and the text that it represents.
The bond was so strong, in fact, that when St. John died, Vinson paid the
living expenses of St. John’s widow, Ellen, and visited her often.
As Vinson’s health declined, he decided to donate some
of his collection to the Edgar Rice Burroughs Corp. in Los Angeles. Run
by Burroughs’ family, the corporation planned to put together a museum,
but after several years the donated collectibles remained in a warehouse,
and some had been sold. A few years later, Vinson died, and what remained
of his collection was willed to his two children, one of whom was then
a young professor of entomology at Texas A&M University, S. Bradleigh
Vinson. Neither child had much interest in the inheritance, however, and
the collection went into storage.
Then about 10 years ago, Vinson convinced his sister to
sell him the other half of the collection, and he was amazed at what he
found. Going through the boxes with one of his father’s old collecting
buddies, the younger Vinson became hooked, much as his father had so many
years before. He picked up where his father left off, and has managed to
amass what he considers the most comprehensive collection of St. John/Burroughs
artwork in the world. Whereas the elder Vinson could visit the publishing
houses 60 years ago, collecting today is a much different task, with its
own set of difficulties. Vinson has a list of the items he still desires,
but much of the list is simply unavailable. It is in the hands of other
collectors, who have no desire to part with it or, sadly, it has been lost
forever or destroyed.
Ironically, although “Tarzan” might make up the largest
part of his collection, it is “The Warlord of Mars” series that takes up
the largest part of his heart. “I got interested in Edgar Rice Burroughs
more because of the science fiction than because of Tarzan,” Vinson said.
“I like all the weird animals.” Not a surprising statement, considering
he spends his professional life studying, and teaching about, bugs. Vinson
says that his affinity for bright colors is quite likely the root of his
love of insects. Indeed, it has been a lifelong fascination, as he notes
with a smile, “My mother always told me my first word was not ‘mother’
or ‘father,’ it was ‘ant,’ and I wasn’t talking about Aunt Nancy, either.”
So it is also not surprising that he would be drawn more to the visual
aspects of the collection, whereas his father was more stimulated by the
reading.
“ My father got into collecting because he loved the stories,
I got into it because I like the artwork,” he said. While his father concentrated
on collecting books, newspaper clippings about Burroughs and St. John paintings,
Vinson has expanded the collection to include other artists of Burroughs’
work, such as Frank Schoonover, and has recently added a whole new branch
of the Tarzan genre to his collection, Disney. With the 1999 release of
the animated “Tarzan,” a whole new set of memorabilia flooded the marketplace,
and Vinson eagerly began scooping it up. Toys, books, posters, even a light
switch cover, Disney’s marketing campaigned covered all the bases, and
soon that part of his collection filled an entire room.
Burroughs collectors have regular conventions, called
“dum dums,” where they can meet with one another, view each other’s collections,
and trade pieces. These conventions owe their moniker to Tarzan’s ape language,
in which “dum dum” translates to “a meeting of apes.”
Today’s collector also has technology to aid his never-ending
quest. “EBay changed things,” Vinson said. “The first days were tough.
A few people were out there, willing to buy at any price.” Consequently,
the prices for rare memorabilia reached outrageous levels, and much of
the most sought-after material was consolidated into a few collections.
Vinson further notes that while the bidding on rarer items can be fierce,
the collectors are friends, so it never gets too heated. The fact that
many of the collectors take different routes also eases competition somewhat.
He is one of the few Burroughs collectors who also collect
the Disney memorabilia, and his collection of foreign material makes his
collection unique. He has Disney promotional merchandise from Mexico, India,
Russia and Southeast Asia. He worries that now that the Disney movie is
five years old, and with seemingly no new “Tarzan” coming out, the next
generation will not be interested in Burroughs’ work.
He does not view his collection as an investment, however.
So no matter what the monetary value may be, it will always be collecting
that holds the most value. “I come from a family of collectors,” he said.
“I am a collector, my father was a collector, my grandfather was a collector.”
As for the future of his pieces, he’s not sure whether his son will want
to continue with the collecting. Vinson plans to donate his collection
to a Burroughs museum in Chicago and a library in Louisville, but keep
the ownership within the family. He doesn’t want to see his collection
sold off piece by piece, as some of his father’s was back in the 1960s.
“ Sometimes I think I’m buying back my father’s stuff,”
Vinson said of some of his collection. “I’ve learned some lessons."
One of artist James Allen St. John’s paintings
was used for the Edgar Rice Burroughs “Tarzan” comic
book series.
St. John is responsible for illustrating more than half
of Burroughs’ books.