DS, signed “Edgar Rice Burroughs,” two pages, 8.5 x 13, May 15, 1918. Original agreement between Burroughs and A. C. McClurg & Company for The Gods of Mars. In part: “The said publisher agrees upon its part to print and publish said manuscript in book form at its own expense in such style and matter and in such quantity as it seems most expedient, and to sell the same at a retail or catalog price of one dollar and thirty cents…royalties as follows. (a) Twelve and one-half percent…on the first five thousand…(b) Fifteen per cent…from 5000…upward.” In very good condition, with several horizontal folds, staple holes at the top left border, chipping and small tears to the second page not affecting his signature, and show-through from docketing on the last page.
The Gods of Mars was Burroughs’ 1918 science fiction novel, the second of his famous Barsoom series. First published as a five-part magazine serial beginning in 1913, the aforementioned publisher offered the tale as a complete novel in September 1918—the details of that agreement hammered out in the offered document. Many literary critics consider the work to be some of the greatest pulp fiction ever conceived, praising The Gods of Mars—and Burroughs— for the imagination, colorful descriptions, and adventure brought to life via his flamboyant prose, vocabulary, and grammatical construction. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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