A. C. McClurg was a stationer , publisher , and book wholesaler for over 120 years in Chicago , Illinois . The business began in 1844 , as Chicago 's first stationery store and changed hands several times , often as the result of a fire . Alexander McClurg came into management of the business at the time of the Great Chicago Fire ( 1871 ) and established an interest in fine literature , which was pursued by the company until late in the first decade of the 20th century . While pursuing interests in fine English literature and the literary magazine , '' The Dial '' , perhaps one of the most historically important books published by McClurg 's " Rare Books " section was W. E. B. Du Bois ' '' The Souls of Black Folk '' ( 1903 ) . '' About a decade after McClurg 's death , although the company kept his name , it shut down his Rare Books section of the business and pursued popular adventure , perhaps most famously in the original publishing of the '' Tarzan of the Apes '' novels and other stories of Chicago author , Edgar Rice Burroughs , as well as Tom Mix stories . While these book proved very successful , the business model eventually changed again , and from 1922 to 1962 , A.C. McClurg was primarily a book wholesaler
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
A. C. McClurg