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EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS / CANADA
CONNECTION I
...... 
Part of our Edgar Rice Burroughs
Connections Series featured at ERBzine
1299
ERB and Canada by John F. Roy
Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote of many countries and several
worlds, ranging from the mythical Kingdom of Lutha in southeast Europe
to far off Poloda in the star-system of Omos. At the same time his numerous
Earth-born characters were representative of almost every nation on the
face of the globe – Abyassinians, Belgians, Chinese, and on down the alphabet.
Just what part did Canada and Canadians play in the tales
of this master story-teller? To answer the second part first, there are
only three Canadians thus honoured, and they by their works alone. The
first is Henry Herbert Knibbs, for his poem “Out There Somewhere”
which was used as a basis for Part II of the The Mucker and for
brief selections scattered throughout the The Oakdale Affair. Quotations
from the works of
Robert W. Service also appear in these two books,
thanks to Bridge and his fondness of this style of verse. The name Mary
Pickford, Toronto-born star of the silver screen, will be found in
The Girl From Hollywood.
As for Canada herself, there is a strong possibility that
John Carter roamed southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as
in A Princess of Mars he says he spent several years among the Sioux
of the north. In the early days of American history these Indians ranged
through what is now Minnesota, the Dakotas and the Prairie Provinces.
As far as we know, Tarzan did not visit Canada, never getting nearer than
the northern part of Wisconsin (Tarzan of the Apes). However, in
Tarzan the Magnificent (Chapter 19) mention is made of Medicine
Hat (Alberta), in Tarzan and the “Foreign Legion” (Chapter 5)
reference is made of Halifax (Nova Scotia), while in Tarzan and
the Madman (Chapter 15) the unfortunate Pelham Dutton said he had done
a lot of mountain climbing in northeast Canada.
In The Mucker, Bridge mentions having been "on
the Yukon" (River). While this could have been somewhere in Alaska,
it also is quite possible that he was in the Canadian Yukon as well,
for the river flows through both areas. In the opening remarks of The
War Chief we are told that Apaches from Northwest Canada migrated
to Arizona and New Mexico centuries ago. Thus it was that Canada had a
direct, though remote, hand in the raising of young Andy MacDuff, or Shoz-Dijiji
as his foster-folk called him. In
Beyond Thirty (Chapter 11) Jefferson
Turck, commander of the ill-fated aero-submarine ‘Coldwater’ tried to make
the port of St. John’s (Newfoundland) when his ship generators broke
down well over the Atlantic. Canada, by that time known as the Federated
States of Canada, was part of the relatively new Pan American Federation.
In Chapter 2 of Pellucidar we read, “gaunt, lean
wolves – huge creatures twice the size of our Canadian timber-wolves.”
(Our thanks to John Harwood for this paragraph). The most important reference
to Canada, however, will be found in The Moon Maid. In the prologue
the narrator is on an aircraft enroute from Chicago to Paris. This in all
likelihood, would take him over Eastern Canada. But in the little
known prologue to Part II (see The Moon Men, Ace Edition) we are
told that Burroughs himself went out hunting for polar bears on that portion
of the Canadian mainland in the vicinity of Herschel Island. With
him were three (presumably Canadian) Eskimos. Burroughs became separated
from his party and was attacked by the very bear he was hunting. He, in
turn, was rescued by the crew of the International Peace Cruiser.
On board the cruiser was Julian 3rd, Admiral of the Fleet,
who was ranging over the Canadian Northland in an effort to locate
Burroughs at the request of his president. It is to be presumed that the
entire tale of Julian 9th was related high in the air over Canada while
the ship was returning from Herschel island to Washington.Thus it is that
Canada and Canadians play a part — however small — in the works of Edgar
Rice Burroughs. ~ Submitted by Doug Denby
CANADIAN
TRIVIA by Bill Hillman
(Visit ERBzine 1428 www.erbzine.com/mag14/1428.html
to view reference links)
1.
Harold Foster
spent his formative years in Halifax, NS and Winnipeg, MB:
2. As reported in the ERBzine
artist tribute, Russ Manning's father was Canadian.
3. One of the all-time great ERB scholars
is the late John F. Roy. Many of Mr. Roy's contributions listed
in our Illustrated ERB-dom
Bibliography. He was a longtime contributor and co-editor of this award-winning
ERB fanzine.
4. Doug
Denby of Unionville, Ontario -- host of ECOF
2005 -- is John F. Roy's nephew.
5. The H. H. Knibbs Tributes
are featured in
ERBzine
0950 and ERBzine 0951.
6. There were a good number of
Canadian authors in ERB's
personal library.
7. Many of the
Canadian McClelland & Stewart
1st editions are prized collectors items.
8. Brendan Fraser was star
of the Tarzan parody film, George of the Jungle, and host for the AMC
Tarzan marathon.
9. Actually the previous two references
along with Hal Foster
made up one of the TRI-via
questions in our ERB board game.
10. Among the guests Ed partied with
in Australia on January
3, 1943 was Ralph E. Smith, a Canadian government official from
Vancouver, BC.
11. And of course, the Ratnaz
Files parody serial is teeming with Canadians.
12. Another well-known SF writer,
A .E. van Vogt,
was born and lived close to our Manitoba home when I was a kid. (Alfred
Elton Van Vogt ~ born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, 26 April 1912 - died
26 January 2000). I regret never having met him.
13. ERBzine readers might be interested
in knowing that the current ERBzine prolific contributor, Nova Scotia-born
Den Valdron,
is also a Manitoba Neighbour.
14. Another longtime ERBapa contributor
and well-known collector of ERB and original
art,
Raymond Cuthbert
is also a Manitoba neighbour who lives in Winnipeg.
15. There have been numerous other
Canadian ERBapa contributors over the years including BC's Nels
Myrhoj.
16. Alberta artist Jeff
Doten's Illustration Studio Website features a fine array of Mars
and SF art. Jeff has also designed logos for numerous ERB Conventions.
17. In his ERBzine
analysis of The Land That Time Forgot, ERB scholar Phillip
R. Burger writes: "Another possible inspiration for LTTF's plot (and
I have no proof except it simply sounds too intriguing to not mention)
is the sinking of the Canadian cargo ship Mount Temple by a U-boat
in 1916; the cargo the ship carried was dinosaur bones from Alberta."
18. Some of ERB nephew Studley
Oldham Burroughs most famous illustrations were of the RCMP:
See: Looking North: Royal Canadian Mounted Police Illustrations: Potlatch
Collection.
19. There is an interesting list
of Canadians associated with SF in an
ERBzine
Motes & Quotes issue at 0662.
20. Canadian artists are well
represented in the
ERB
Artists Encyclopedia:
21. A Canadian reference
by ERB in Pellucidar:
"There were the great cave bears in the timber, and gaunt, lean wolves--huge
creatures twice the size of our Canadian timber-wolves."
22. One of the many unreported trips
taken by Ed and Florence in the late '30s was aboard the Canadian Pacific
Railway ship: The Empress of Japan. This trip is described in the Florence
Gilbert biography in ERBzine. It included a cruise through the Panama
Canal to New York. They then drove cross-country back to Los Angeles
in the new Packard that had been stowed on the liner. In August of 1938
Ed and Florence sailed to Honolulu on the S.S. Lurline for a planned two-week
visit with Wayne and Mary Pflueger -- he was to dedicate a book to Mrs.
Pflueger a few years later. They returned on The Empress of Japan, arriving
in Vancouver in October. They then drove down to Tarzana along the Pacific
coast. Coincidentally, my father, CPO Jerry Hillman of the RCN served on
what had been a rival ship operated by the rival railway company, Canadian
National Railway. H.M.C.S.
Prince Robert was refitted a number of times and by the end of
WWII it was a state-of-the art cruiser. It sailed with a British and US
convoy to the Pacific where the oversaw the release of the Candian POW
as Hong Kong and accepted the Japanese surrender. In its long history the
ship was originally designed as a fast coastal ferry, she later became
a cruise ship, an AMC, an A/A cruiser, -- and then after the war a refugee
transport, and eventually cut in half and lengthened to serve as a luxurious
ocean liner -- finally it was sold to Mexico and then scrapped.
23. Dr. Philip Currie, a
driving force in the success of Alberta's famous
Royal
Tyrell Museum, where he served as head of Dinosaur
Research, published two excellent ERB fanzines in the '60s and '70s:
Fantastic
Worlds of Burroughs and Kline and ERBIVORE.
24. Pete Ogden, who is still
editing the longest-running ERB fanzine, ERBANIA,
published the first issues back in the '50s while residing in Canada.
25. Steve
Hawkes (Sipek) immigrated to Canada in 1959 where he learned and
eventually won 1st place in a Mr. Canada contest. He became a long distance
swimmer and swam Lake Ontario in the mid-'60s. He then starred as Tarzan
in two unauthorized Tarzan
movies:
Tarzan en la gruta del oro in 1969, also known as King
of the Jungle and in 1971, Tarzan Y El Arco Iris or Tarzan
and the Brown Prince. During the filming of the second movie
he was burned over 90% of his body. A lion on the set dragged him
to safety and from that time on he had an overwhelming love of animals
-- eventually opening a wild animal
park in Florida in which he provided sanctuary for mistreated tigers,
lions, leopards, cougars, etc.
26. Quotations from the works
of Robert W. Service, one of ERB's favourite poets, appear throughout
ERB's books The Mucker
and The Oakdale Affair.
27. Mary Pickford, Toronto-born
star of the silver screen, is mentioned in The Girl From Hollywood.
ERB's second wife, Florence
Gilbert, was a Mary Pickford look-alike and came to Hollywood at the
personal encouragement of Miss Pickford. Pickford actually came
out to Tarzana Ranch to look over the property on January 20, 1930.
28. In
Beyond
Thirty the ill-fated aero-submarine Coldwater
tried to make the port of St. John’s, Newfoundland when the generators
broke down over the Atlantic.
29. In the original prologue
to Part II of the Moon Maid Burroughs himself went out hunting for
polar bears in the vicinity of Canada's Herschel Island. With him
were three Eskimos.
30. Joe Lukes is an ERB authority and longtime
ERB collector. One result of his research is the booklet: "Bibliography
of 'Pre-war' Grosset & Dunlap Editions" published for the Sacramento
ECOF 2004.
31. ERB also has a major Canadian
Internet connection. The Official Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Websites
and Webzines see joint publication from Brandon, Manitoba and Tarzana,
California: tarzan.com ~ tarzan.org
~ JohnColemanBurroughs.com
~ ERBzine.com ~ www.dantonburroughs.com
~ tarzana.ca ~ erbzine.com/edgarriceburroughs
~ johncarterofmars.ca ~ pellucidar.org
~ etc. These are huge and ever-growing sites containing many thousands
of Web pages devoted to the life and works of ERB. The sites are constantly
updated with the weekly ERBzine Webzine: www.ERBzine.com/mag
~ the monthly Tarzine Webzine: www.tarzan.com/tarzine
~ as well as breaking ERB news and press releases at: www.ERBzine.com/news
CANADIAN HARDCOVER EDITIONS
OF EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS BOOKS
by John F. Roy
Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was
the creator of the famous jungle character, Tarzan of the Apes. Burroughs
wrote twenty-six books extolling the virtues of the apeman, and from these
have sprung over forty motion pictures, several radio and TV series, and
countless comics books, as well as daily strips and Sunday features. Some
of his books, as well as daily strips and Sunday features. Some of his
books have been translated into as many as thirty foreign languages.
As well as the Tarzan novels Burroughs
wrote eleven tales of adventure on the planet Mars, five on Venus, and
seven in Pellucidar, a land in the centre of the Earth. To this add another
dozen science-fiction, jungle, historical romance, and western stories
and you have over sixty titles by one of America's most popular authors.
Burroughs' U.S. first editions are
always in demand . . . but the same desire doesn't seem to exist for foreign
editions, including the few titles published in Canada. Unfortunately not
too much is known about the Canadian firsts. To my knowledge only seven
have been accounted for, six of them in the Tarzan series.
McClelland, Goodchild & Stewart,
Toronto, was responsible for TARZAN OF THE APES in 1914, THE RETURN OF
TARZAN in 1915 and THE BEASTS OF TARZAN in 1916. Oddly enough, while the
M.G.&S. name appears on the title page of these books the imprint on
the spine is that of A.C. McClurg & Co., the American publisher of
Burroughs' books up to 1928.
Book four, THE SON OF TARZAN, was
distributed in Canada in 1917 by The British Columbia News Co. Ltd., Vancouver
and The Toronto News Co., Toronto. One or the other of these companies
is identified on the title page but the spine is blank in this respect.
I have no record of a Canadian edition
of TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR (U.S. 1918) or of JUNGLE TALES OF TARZAN
(U.S. 1919).
In 1920 McClelland & Stewart
Ltd., published TARZAN THE UNTAMED and in 1921 TARZAN THE TERRIBLE. These
two books show the M&S imprint on the spine as well as on the title
page.
As far as I have been able to establish
no further Tarzan books were published in Canada. George J. McLeod, Ltd.
of Toronto was the Canadian distributor for Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.,
between 1934 and 1940, but whether or not this firm's name appeared anywhere
in or on the books they handled is not known. Inquiries have show their
records to not go back that far.
I have a copy of Burroughs' adventure
novel THE MUCKER, which was published by M.&S. in 1921, and this firm's
name appears on both the title page and the spine.
I also have a copy of the 1925 agreement
between A.C. McClurg & Co. of Chicago and E.R.B. covering his story
THE CAVE GIRL, wherein mention is made of "royalties on the Canadian edition",
but I have neither seen nor heard of such a publication.
In review - it would appear that
a Canadian edition of an Edgar Rice Burroughs book would show the name
of the Canadian publisher on the title page, but that the spine may bear
the name of that publisher or of the American firm, A.C. McClurg &
Co. or none at all.
If there were any other Edgar Rice
Burroughs titles published in Canada I would be most happy to hear of them.
Bill Hillman | hillmans@wcgwave.ca
www.hillmanweb.com
41 Kensington Crescent ~ Brandon, Manitoba
~ R7A 6M4 ~ Canada