Tarzan the Untamed

After listening to the LibriVox recording of Babbitt, I have opted for the Burroughs novel titled Tarzan the Untamed. This time the Lord of the Jungle is killing scads of Germans in Africa during World War I. This book is much bloodier than the previous Tarzan novels I listened to. This time Tarzan is away from his African home when a troop of German soldiers with their black cohorts wreck havoc on his estate, killing all inhabitants. Tarzan returns home to find all his native helpers massacred.The Germans even crucified his head man in the living room of Tarzan's bungalow. Also, Tarzan finds his mate, Jane, is now an unrecognizable burnt corpse. This, of course, sends Tarzan on a maniacal spree of slaughtering all Germans within his reach, with all this bloodletting being fine fare for a young boy.

But worse than this is Tarzan's deplorable eating habits as the Lord Greystoke goes native again, killing and eating uncooked virtually every animal he comes across. This culminates in Tarzan playing dead and catching a buzzard that lands on his emaciated body. Tarzan promptly catches the buzzard, wrings its neck, eats the tough old bird, and drinks its blood. Ugh! The author doesn't say how he got past the feathers.

I read about all the Tarzan books when I was 9 or 10, but I don't remember how I got through this German bloodletting and carnivorous eating.

I wonder how many of you read Tarzan books as a youngster and what memories you have of them.

While Tarzan is on my to-read list, I have yet to crack them open. I can't speak to the book you mentioned in particular. However, when I read books I try not to project today's sensitivities onto books written such a long time ago. In the matter of survival (referring to Tarzan eating uncooked flesh), one does what one must to survive. Drinking animal blood is common throughout history and cultures it seems from my readings.

In a similar vein, there is a chapter in 'King Solomon's Mines' by Haggard (written about the same time I would guess) where the main characters of the book go on a hunting slaughter as well. It didn't add anything to the book. Today we would not attribute such deeds to the hero of a novel. At the time the book was written, I expect the wildlife in Africa seemed countless and endless, and the thought that man could make a meaningful dent on them perhaps not appreciated.

-Shawn

I probably read at least the first 15 of the Tarzan novels as a kid and have the first six in the Easton Press edition from back when I that was my idea of fine press. I've read those books again as an adult and still love them. I also loved his John Carter of Mars series. It would be hard for me to resist some of the better Tarzan books in a nice edition...

The most beautiful edition of Tarzan I have seen is by Easton Press. I can't find any pics of it, so I may just post some. It's signed and illustrated by Bob Eggleton. It's still extremely affordable. The lowest priced auction I have found is here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOWEST-EBAY-PRICE-Easton-TARZAN-OF-THE-APES-176-800-SLIP...

Actually, the auction does include some pics, but they're not great, so I'll probably post some at some point. Also, this was printed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the book! Here's a bit of trivia for you (no looking it up!):

Where was Tarzan written?

Burroughs was born in Chicago and returned there after he was turned down to attend West Point. He worked in a series of low paying jobs until he started writing around 1911. He published Tarzan of the Apes in 1912. The book I am posting about was the seventh in the Tarzan series and was published in 1920. The first six books of the series are those published by Easton. These are probably the best of the series.

He bought his ranch in California in 1921 and began publishing his books himself in 1923. I imagine the books after 1923 were written at his ranch in California. When WWII broke out, he was living in Hawaii so he may have written some there.

After the first six Tarzan books, the stories developed into excessive bloodletting. Tarzan the Untamed with its slaughter of German soldiers actually cost Burroughs quite a lot of money. His books were well received in Germany and were a big seller. Most of his German sales went south after his treatment of the German soldiers in this novel. Eating an uncooked buzzard is not a subject I want to even consider, but it must not have bothered me as a child.

I have seen first editions of Tarzan of the Apes listed at $50,000. The Easton books sold for about $100 each, I think, since I bought all six. there are no complete Tarzan series being published today. The last to be published were in a paperback format.

The first Tarzan book was not published in Illinois nor Chicago. It was published in Vermont. The Easton editions are very nice, especially the DLE.

Regardless of where the Tarzan series was published, I would be interested in obtaining a complete set of Tarzan books. Tarzan may be the most recognizable protagonist in fiction. I had a complete set when I was about twelve. I think there are 23 novels in a complete set. the only ones now available are those in a paperback format. Hardbound copies of the early single volumes are ridiculously priced, sometimes at over $1000.

The set I had was published during the war years, and their acidic paper caused them to disintegrate by the time I was discharged from the Air Force in 1959, Meanwhile, I will start on the eighth of the series, Tarzan the Terrible, recorded on LibriVox. These recording are fun to listen to regardless of Tarzan's peculiar diet and his racial slurs against black Africans.

Burroughs is a great example of a writer whose books would make perfect fine editions. As much as I love the books, I'm not really interested in paying for first editions. First of all, that's not really where my interest lies; Second, they were pulp fiction and printed appropriately to that genre and to the economics of the times; Third, they were not illustrated. I don't recall the specifics of the Easton Press DLE (I have the regular edition of the first six Tarzan novels and the first five Mars novels) but I believe the only illustration is a reproduction of the (admittedly nice) dust jacket cover as a frontispiece. I know the First Editions Library did something similar. That is good but not really tempting. A great illustrator could have a field day with Burrough's books. Selected titles on awesome paper, appropriate bindings, and original lavish illustrations would be hard for me to pass up. The first five Tarzan novels and then selected others would be enough for me. A Princess of Mars and The Gods of Mars from the Barsoom/Mars series would also be hard to ignore. Maybe a book from the Venus series and a couple other one-offs from the Earth's Core or The Mucker. Burroughs wrote pulp fiction, and as much as I like them, I don't need to have or read them all. But I'd love to see some of the better books.

These are short, fast reads in general, so it seems they would be doable by small presses. The Centipede Press or another small press could really do some of his books justice. Maybe the Prototype Press since they are want to publish "California" authors, although they are looking for new, first edition types of things. The Foolscap Press did some Ursula Le Guin a while back, so maybe they would consider it. I'm sure that would be spectacular based on their other work. The Arion Press would probably not be adventurous enough in the design but I would still but it. Even the Folio Society could take a crack at it and be successful, maybe even with one of their go-to illustrators. Feliks Topolski jumped into my head because I love his War & Peace illustrations. He might have done some interesting illustrations to Tarzan, but alas, he's not available. Maybe Quentin Blake? Or even one of the great graphic novel illustrators out there...

8: The Tarzan DLE is a beautiful edition, and includes original full color illustrations by Bob Eggleton specially commissioned for the book. It's limited to 800 copies, signed by Eggleton, comes with a beautiful slipcase, numerous B&W illustrations (also by Eggleton) and it's the only fine edition of Tarzan that I know of.

You really should look at that link I included above.

Sorry, but the Easton LE is not what I, or many others, would consider a Fine Press edition. As far a I can tell, it is not printed Letter Press and I would think the illustrations are printed CMYK offset. The leather on most Easton books are machine made.

I say if you like it, go for it. Just don't call it Fine Press.

10: Notice I called it a "fine edition" NOT "fine press". You're right that it's not letterpress, and the leather is probably machine made, but if one gets off one's high horse for a bit, it turns out that there are real gems to be found at ground level.

>11 astropi:

Agreed.

That's why I advised you to go for it. There is no high horse here as you say. We shouldn't even be discussing Tarzan books on a George Macy site. All of us, including myself, should be concentrating on products of the LEC or HP. This group is getting so far afield from Django's original thoughts that it (the group) is in danger of losing Django's original concept. The LECs from Macy through Shiff are letterpress books (as are early HPs) so for the most part these are what should be discussed, not Easton Press or French books, but LECs and their influence on book sellers and buyers. Since Django is the moderator, I leave it up to him to rein in the posters. There are plenty of other sites to discuss Easton Press and foreign language books. I am sick of posts, especially foreign language posts, which have little or nothing to do with LECs. If a foreign language book is to be compared to an English equivalent LEC, that is fine. But issues which have nothing to do with HP's and LECs should be held to a minimum or even eliminated by the moderator.

This site is in danger of becoming obsolete or even non existent as posters feel that they have a right to discuss every vein of literature. I will refrain from posting here to see if all can get back to posting about literature and book production more germane to the LECs and HPs.

While the GMD forums are certainly meant to honour Macy's output first and foremost, I cannot think of any better way to honour Macy by also discussing other fine presses - both past and present - as well as the art and craft of creating and maintaining said books. More to the point, Macy wanted subscribers to the LEC and HP to be exposed to classic literature; I would like to think that he would be one of the first people to champion the excellent work done by other fine press publishers nowadays in not only ensuring that editions of classic literature continue to be produced to high standards (not always letterpress, true, but at the very least a sight better than your standard mass market paperbacks), but also by introducing readers to other works - both classic and contemporary - that never made it into the LEC canon for one reason or another; Macy certainly could never have produced editions of every single great work in the canon if he had ten lifetimes, though he did an admirable job in his lifetime!

More than that, I think everyone on these boards has, at one point or another, collected non-Macy editions, and many of us continue to collect these editions simply because of our love of the printed word. The best part about talking to GMD members is learning about their collecting habits and, to be perfectly honest, constantly feeling like one has just entered into a bibliophile version of Alice in Wonderland: one never quite knows what one will find around the next e-corner on here! Allowing oneself to wander and find or create novel (pun intended? Maybe?), sometimes unexpected, connections between books - whether solely Macy or otherwise - is what makes building a library so exciting. I recognise that some of us have strict standards and goals vis-a-vis their personal libraries while others are more flexible - absolutely nothing wrong with that!

For instance, I had never given a thought to French editions (other than my utter love of Saint-Exupéry's Le Petit Prince and his Wind, Sand, and Stars), and parchment has been a most excellent guide in this regard. I personally think he has done a magnificent job curating French editions and presses here on GMD, and for what it's worth, I think it's fascinating to be able to compare editions that were contemporaneous with Macy's 'golden age' to get a better sense of how he may have been influenced by what else was going on in the fine press world. After all, Macy had to have assembled his team from somewhere, and it's evident that he trawled the 'book world' to find those he deemed worthy enough to help him produce his LECs.

So, for me, I enjoy seeing what other people collect - and more importantly, why they collect what they do - and seeing how having known about Macy for years or having just discovered his books influences the growth and reorientation of libraries.

Times like these, I'm often reminded of Johnson's wonderful translation of the Spanish proverb, which I think is quite appropriate here - he who desires the wealth of the Indies must carry the wealth of the Indies about with him. The real question is how do each of us define our personal 'wealth of the Indies'? Whether it be medieval knights and damsels giggling at Chaucer's naughty fart jokes whilst gallivanting about with Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Homer, Shakespeare, and Dante - as per my library - or Tarzan following St Francis whilst avoiding wayward shots from Athos, Porthos, and Aramais in someone else's library, there is some method to everyone's madness on here, and it's always fun seeing how that madness changes on a dime or gradually over time.

I hope and sincerely think Macy would approve.

Circumstances have kept me from posting more often here than I would like, as it is, as scholasticus says, enjoyable to share a love of books and fine press with other like-minded individuals. Although my intention was, and remains, to honor Macy's work and to exchange valuable information about his output--and that includes the Heritage Press as well as the LEC--I think the field of discussion can be very broad. The French publications discussed were not too far afield as they featured, on one hand, the works of an illustrator who figured in the Macy output (Decaris) and, on the other hand, some alternate approaches to illustrating an author who was frequently honored by Macy (Anatole France). Often these sorts of comparisons lend greater appreciation of LEC or HP editions.

I certainly don't consider my position as a moderator, and the only I time I would intervene is if I found the debate becoming too contentious. But disagreement is only natural, and often productive, when it comes to discussing any Art.

What I would enjoy seeing more of, especially as it pertains to this post, is a discussion of which books are candidates for a Fine Press treatment (I'm using capitals because I agree with Don that true Fine Press books are printed letterpress, on rag paper, and use some type of fine art reproduction for the illustrations--if illustrated). Now I also agree that there are fine editions, and I certainly consider most Folio books, some Easton Press and Franklin Library books, and some of the Heritage Press books (from the years after WW II) to fall into this category. Though Don is right that the collector value of these books is not in the same league as limited editions, that doesn't mean that aren't desirable additions to one's library (mine would certainly be poorer without them).

So to get back to Don's original post, do the Tarzan books deserve the Limited Edition, Fine Press treatment? I haven't read them for many years, but I would say "not." That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy them tremendously when I read them (as I enjoyed Don Sturdy, Tom Swift, the Hardy Boys and, especially, Rick Brandt). I consider them pure entertainment, but aside from the pleasure of the read, they don't stimulate later thought as does, say, Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness," which has the superficial similarity of a jungle adventure, and is certainly enjoyable on that level, but is so much more.

But I also agree the books certainly deserve better than high-acid, wood-pulp paper, murky offset printing, and cheapjack or no illustrations paperback editions, which is the format in which they are most usually available. A writer I love much more than Burroughs, P.G. Wodehouse, is also "just" entertainment (although Lord knows that is no small accomplishment!) and although I don't think he deserves the Fine Press treatment, I am certainly very, very happy to have all the Jeeves and Blandings novels in attractive Folio Society editions.

Anyway, that's my take on Tarzan; does anyone feel he does deserve the full LEC/Arion Press/Pennyroyal Press treatment?

17: "Though Don is right that the collector value of these books {Folio Society, Easton Press, etc.} is not in the same league as limited editions"

I would argue that limited editions from Easton Press, Folio, etc. are, apart from the letterpress, in the same league as LEC books. Believe it or not, I get more pleasure from reading my Easton Press DLE Tarzan than most any LEC. While a "normal" Easton Press book is not the same quality as an LEC, their DLE editions are often superb. To be honest, a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for.

OK, now then, Tarzan. Does it deserve the fine press treatment? In my opinion, yes. You can certainly google as well as I, and see just how popular and influential it is. Of course that in itself is not necessary for fine press, but it is also now accepted as a "classic"

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/books-that-shaped-america/1900-to-1950.html

Other American writers in my opinion that deserve the fine press treatment but have been overlooked include: Kurt Vonnegut, Robert E. Howard, and H.P. Lovecraft.

In the case of Vonnegut, Easton Press released a number of his books in signed, limited editions. My favorite being their DLE Slaughterhouse Five

http://www.eastonpress.com/prod/C35/Kurt-Vonnegut--SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE_2719

As for R.E.H. his stories were produced in a beautiful signed limited edition by Wandering Star Press. Before Chris decided to concentrate entirely on letterpress, I wrote a review here:

http://booksandvines.com/2011/12/01/the-savage-tales-of-solomon-kane-robert-e-ho...

Lovecraft is universally known. However, I'm not aware of a single fine press edition. I often wonder why authors such as Lovecraft and Burroughs get overlooked? The same thing can be asked about Science Fiction in general. Is there not enough demand for such books as fine press? Will people not take it seriously? Regardless, I think such books are as important as more widely regarded canonical books. Now, I have to say Arion Press does show some real spark at times. I was thrilled when they did Animal Farm, and utterly disappointed with the illustrations:

http://www.arionpress.com/catalog/099.htm

On the other hand, I was surprised and enthralled with their edition of Shirley Jackson's "The Sundial"

http://www.arionpress.com/catalog/091.htm

and here is Chris' great review

http://booksandvines.com/2012/01/30/the-sundial-by-shirley-jackson-arion-press-2...

Jackson, like the others I have named, is also overlooked. I really hope Arion considers publishing other editions along the lines of their amazing Sundial.

>18 astropi: H.P. Lovecraft: Masters of the Weird Tale from Centipede Press, 300 copies, 1220 pages plus an accompanying volume of photographs.

19: I know. Still not fine press. Also, that edition is not signed nor numbered.