Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Tarzan 101 | Edgar Rice Burroughs, Incorporated



Celebrating Tarzan's 101st anniversary by walking through Scott Tracy Griffin's Tarzan: The Centennial Celebration.

Burroughs was a savvy businessman as well as a talented author. In 1923 he incorporated himself, gave stock to his family members, and started drawing a salary from the new company. He set up shop on Ventura Boulevard and the Spanish-style bungalow is still the headquarters of the corporation today. I got the photo above from the Black Gate site, which includes a report on Ryan Harvey's visit to ERB, Inc. earlier this year. Harvey's post is full of great information and well worth reading.

It was through ERB, Inc. that Burroughs eventually made his film deals and even published his own books. The endeavor was successful enough to get Burroughs and his family through the Great Depression with his finances intact.

During Burroughs' lifetime, the company had two full-time secretaries. Burroughs hired Ralph Rothmund in 1927 and added Mildred Bernard Jensen in 1931. The company's been run by Burroughs' family since Rothmund retired in 1963.

Though Burroughs died in 1950 (his ashes are buried beneath the mulberry tree in the photo, though a walnut tree was there at the time of his death), his company still manages the licenses for films, books, comics, toys, and everything else based on his work.

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