It is no secret that, except for Irwin Porges' massive biography of Edgar Rice Burroughs, most of the informative, factual research and provocative speculation (although much of it wrong-headed!) has appeared in the Burroughs fan magazines. And, unlike non-fiction books, there has, for the most part, never been any kind of index for these various fan publications. So it has been difficult to use fanzines as a research tool. 

The Burroughs Bulletin was begun by Vernell Coriell, regarded as the "Father of Burroughs Fandom," in the summer of 1947; a mimeographed 11 x 17 inch sheet of paper folded in half to create four pages. For almost three decades The Burroughs Bulletin was the pre-eminent Burroughs publication. Sadly, during the late 1970s Vern lost his way and began publishing issues out of sequence or allowing long periods of time to pass before publishing any at all. In the early 1980s Vern began to suffer from deteriorating health and passed away in 1987. He had published nothing since 1983.

Dedicated Burroughs fan, George T. McWhorter, had long desired to enter the fan publishing field and, in 1982, published the spectacular Edgar Rice Burroughs Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1. This exemplary effort, however, would cease immediately after this first issue due to lack of support from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.  It would be eight years before George would be allowed to realize his dream; after Vern Coriell had passed down the River Iss and his estate agreed to allow George to continue The Burroughs Bulletin.  Although sometimes falling behind, George has maintained his promised schedule of a quarterly publication, which has maintained for over ten years the original membership dues -- bringing the publication, once again, to pre-eminence.

What you hold in your hands is the first index ever compiled of The Burroughs Bulletin, which should prove a valuable tool for the Burroughs fan and researcher. It can be hoped that, at some future date, George will offer indexes of Vern Coriell's original series as well -- possibly even one covering The Gridley Wave. 

George's dedication and efforts on behalf of The Burroughs Bibliophiles, as well as that of all his contributors, should be appreciated by every member, and we can all look forward to the next fifty issues!