The U.S. Postal Service issued this self-adhesive Edgar Rice Burroughs Forever stamp on August 17, 2012 in Tarzana, CA (Burroughs' home town) - to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of Burroughs’ first story, Under the Moons of Mars, and his first Tarzan story, Tarzan of the Apes, in 1912. The artwork for this stamp depicts Tarzan, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ most famous literary creation, clinging to a tree by a vine in his left hand and wielding a weapon in his right. Burroughs appears in profile in the background. To create this portrait of Burroughs, illustrator Sterling Hundley used a 1934 photograph taken by the author’s son, Hulbert Burroughs, showing Edgar reading a hardcover copy of Tarzan and the Lion Man, which was published that same year.

Today, Tarzan is a ubiquitous part of American popular culture. Tarzan stories were published in magazines, syndicated in newspapers, and republished in more than 24 books, and featured in more than 50 movies. Tarzan also became the subject of a comic strip beginning in 1929, radio series in the 1930s and 1950s, and several television series in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Scott # 4702