2015 Dum Dum Memories Courtesy of the Burroughs Family
It all began in 1962 when the Burroughs Bibliophiles were formed as an adjunct to the science fiction Worldcon. This was during the first wave of the great 1960s Edgar Rice Burroughs Revival, and aside from the Bibliophiles, there was plent more Burroughs fan business going on. The Burroughs Bulletin, a dormant fan publication, was resurrected by Verne Coriel. ERBania, was being published by Pete Ogden. More publications followed — Camille Cazedessus gave birth to ERB-dom and Paul Allen brought forward the The Barsoomian. (Read more about the origins at ERBList.)
There’s a context to this that may not be immediately apparent. The “ERB revival” was more than just a mile resurgence of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ works — it was a huge thunderclap of paperback mania that rocked the publishing universe and set a whole generation of young boys and girls on a path of exploration of the worlds of ERB. Just how big this was at the time is the subject of another post — but suffice it to say here, that it’s no surprise that the sudden availability of wave upon wave of ERB paperbacks fueled the birth of a fan movement that continues until today.
The Bibliophiles held their Dum-Dum annually in synch with Worldcon until 1965, when that con decided to venture afield to London. The Bibliophiles stayed home and held their first indepdent con in Chicago, and now — 50 years later — it continues to be an annual celebration that brings out old and new Burroughs fans.
This year’s Dum Dum was hosted by Peggy Adler in the lovely seaside town of Clinton Connecticut. Among those who ventured to Clinton from Southern California were Linda Burroughs and her two daughters, ERB’s great-grandaughters Dejah and Llana Jane. The ERB, Inc. folks were there — Jim Sullos, President, and Archivist Cathy Mann Wilbanks. And a very special guest also came — Nancy Miller, the wife of Denny Miller, the Tarzan who over the years became an exceptionally close friend within the Burroughs universe. Other notables included artist/sculptor Joe DeVito; novelist William Patrick Murray; author Scott Tracy Griffin; Jim Gerlach, editor of the special edition of Back to the Stone Age; Michael R. Hudson; Diane Leto; artist Thomas Yeates; and many, many more.
Linda, Llana Jane, and Dejah Burroughs have generously shared their photos with us so here is a selection from “the Burroughs ladies” — shared here with many, many thanks, not just for the pictures, but for the steadfast support of the family and its extraordinary ambassadors over the years to the Burroughs fan community. ERB and Danton would be proud, and rightly so.
2 comments
Thanks Bill. Yes – Linda shared it on Facebook and was kind enough to share it here too.
The picture of Llana, Nancy Miller and Dejah was, I believe, taken by Bill Wagner and then shared earlier with Linda Burroughs.