# Is "A Princess of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (A. C. McClurg & Co., 1917) is identified by: First edition, first printing: A. US original; the McClurg (Chicago) 1917 is the true first edition in book form and the census claim is correct on this point.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing: A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1917, published 10 October 1917 in a first printing of 10,200 copies
- The copyright page (verso of the title leaf) reads "Published October, 1917" with the printer's imprint "W. F. Hall Printing Company, Chicago" at the foot; both must be present
- Octavo, pp. [i-vi] vii-xii [xiii-xvi] 1-326 [327] [328: blank]. Bound in dark brown cloth with the front and spine panels stamped in orange (some dealers describe the stamping as red)
- Five inserted sepia plates by Frank E. Schoonover, who also painted the jacket
- Priced jacket / price present at the flap
- Note a genuine advance state: McClurg issued a pre-publication paperbound copy in pictorial wrappers with a Schoonover illustration, its copyright page reading "Published September, 1917" — this advance printing precedes the published trade edition and is catalogued separately by Currey
- Publisher imprint reads A. C. McClurg & Co.

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Edgar Rice Burroughs |
| Publisher | A. C. McClurg & Co. |
| Year | 1917 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing: A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1917, published 10 October 1917 in a first printing of 10,200 copies |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing: A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago, 1917, published 10 October 1917 in a first printing of 10,200 copies. The copyright page (verso of the title leaf) reads "Published October, 1917" with the printer's imprint "W. F. Hall Printing Company, Chicago" at the foot; both must be present. Octavo, pp. [i-vi] vii-xii [xiii-xvi] 1-326 [327] [328: blank]. Bound in dark brown cloth with the front and spine panels stamped in orange (some dealers describe the stamping as red). Five inserted sepia plates by Frank E. Schoonover, who also painted the jacket. Priced jacket / price present at the flap. Note a genuine advance state: McClurg issued a pre-publication paperbound copy in pictorial wrappers with a Schoonover illustration, its copyright page reading "Published September, 1917" — this advance printing precedes the published trade edition and is catalogued separately by Currey.

## Is this the true first?
US original; the McClurg (Chicago) 1917 is the true first edition in book form and the census claim is correct on this point. The text was serialized as "Under the Moons of Mars" in The All-Story, February–July 1912, five years before book publication and before Tarzan of the Apes (1914) appeared in book form. The census claim of a Methuen 1919 UK first is NOT confirmed and appears to be an error: the ERBzine C.H.A.S.E.R. and Chrono-Log entries list no Methuen date for this title, while dealer listings (Rooke Books, Biblio, AbeBooks) consistently record the Methuen (London) edition as 1920 — the same year Methuen issued The Gods of Mars. The exact UK first year could not be pinned to an authoritative bibliography; treat it as Methuen (London), 1920. In any case the Methuen is a later, secondary edition and does not compete for precedence — McClurg carries priority.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Reprints are the common trap and vastly outnumber the 10,200-copy first (roughly 172,700 copies across all printings). Grosset & Dunlap issued the title from 1918 into the 1940s and A. L. Burt also reprinted it. Reprint copies carry the reprint publisher's imprint at the foot of the spine and on the title page in place of McClurg, and the G&D reprints carry a reduced illustration complement (frontispiece plus four plates) rather than the five Schoonover sepia plates of the McClurg first. Any copy lacking the "Published October, 1917" / W. F. Hall Printing Company copyright page is not the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Princess of Mars* by Edgar Rice Burroughs a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-princess-of-mars
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.