Tarzan Creator Burroughs on 2012 Stamp

The Postal Service continues its sneak peek at some of its 2012 stamps by previewing the Edgar Rice Burroughs Forever stamp today though social media outlets.

Select stamps from the 2012 commemorative program will be previewed one at a time throughout the summer. Customers may preview the stamps on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps, throughTwitter @USPSstamps or on the website Beyond the Perf at www.beyondtheperf.com/2012-preview. Beyond the Perf is the Postal Service’s online site for the back story on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.

Edgar Rice Burroughs Forever stamp “The Postal Service is proud to honor Edgar Rice Burroughs, one of the most popular and prolific authors of the early 20th century,” said Stephen Kearney, executive director, Stamp Services. “Best known for inventing the iconic character Tarzan, he wrote more than 70 books, including historical fiction and several popular series of science fiction tales. Social media is a great way to preview our stamp program while also making it easy for people to share the news about stamps of interest with their friends.”

Restless by nature, Burroughs (1875-1959) served with the U.S. Cavalry, dredged for gold, worked as a door-to-door salesman and a railroad policeman, and perfomed many other varied jobs until he published his first story, “Under the Moons of Mars,” in 1912 — and found his destiny as a writer.

This Forever stamp shows Tarzan, Burroughs’ most famous literary creation, clinging to a tree by a vine with his left hand and wielding a weapon in his right. Burroughs appears in profile in the background. Hulbert Burroughs, the author’s son, took the 1934 photograph that served as the basis for the stamp portrait of Burroughs. The depiction of Tarzan is an interpretation of the character by artist Sterling Hundley of Chesterfield, VA, under the direction of art director Phil Jordan of Falls Church, VA.

This stamp issuance coincides with the 100th anniversary of the publication of “Under the Moons of Mars,” and his first Tarzan story, “Tarzan of the Apes,” in 1912.