Inside the World of a Burroughs Collector: Unveiling Addictions and Unbelievable Bids

by David Hardy

My name is David Hardy and I’m a collector. There, I said it. Yes, we all love Edgar Rice Burroughs, but I’m cursed with the added affliction of wanting to not just read ERB, but to own ERB-related stuff! So, when Aaron Oliver and John Hood heard about my addiction at PulpFest 2024, they suggested I blog about it on the Carolina Calots website.

Maybe it will offer some therapeutic value. Who knows? But I think I can fill a few paragraphs every month with what I’ve observed in the collecting world of ERB. 

First of all, comics are still hot. Especially at Heritage Auctions. For the past three years or so, graded and slabbed Tarzan comics of the Golden Age (Dell, Sparkler, and Tip Top) have been on fire. Somebody-or at least two somebodies-are bidding aggressively on these items. 

For example, I watched this Sparkler with a great Burne Hogarth cover start at $20 with an opening bid. Then I watched two bidders keep at it until it reached $600! Now this is a raw copy-mid grade- with an ink signature on it! It IS a fairly scarce copy of this Sparkler-I’ve never seen it in the wild at comic shows, but a bit overvalued in that condition, in my opinion.

This Tip Top 41 slabbed at a 6.5 went for $240, but this comic is not that scarce. I have a copy myself.

But there was another auction at Heritage that caught my eye. A true first edition McClurg Tarzan of the Apes in DUST JACKET. The book that really started it all (with apologies) to the nearly impossible to find, Princess of Mars. 

This is an example. Resolution of the original auction item was poor.

The opening price was $40,000. That’s right-40k. Guess what? No bids. Very interesting. After the auction closed with no bids-and this doesn’t happen very often, believe me, Heritage offered a buy-it-now price for 50k-avoiding the 20% buyers’ premium but it still sits unsold. I find this to be quite interesting. What is the true value of this iconic book? To be determined!

That’s it for now. In the next post I’ll discuss PulpFest and what I picked up there to ease my collecting addiction.

Webmaster note: We are excited to see more blogs from David Hardy as he explores the world of collecting Edgar Rice Burroughs items. If you share a similar passion for collecting Burroughs memorabilia, we invite you to join the conversation and share your thoughts on our website.