Robert E. Howard: : The Collector’s Guide to First Editions, Rare and Collectible Books

The Solitary Youth of Cross Plains: Forging a World in Ink (1906-1928)

Robert Ervin Howard (1906-1936) was born in 1906 in Peaster, Texas, but his life and identity were forged in the small, isolated town of Cross Plains. An only child, he was deeply influenced by his father, a country doctor who instilled in him a love of history and frontier lore, and his mother, Hester, a frail woman for whom he developed an intense, protective devotion. Howard was a solitary and bookish youth, often bullied for his size and sensitivity, and he found escape in the violent, romanticized histories of Texas and the Celtic past. He decided on a writing career as a teenager, seeing it as a path to financial independence and a means to channel his prodigious imagination. He consumed pulp magazines like Weird Tales voraciously and began submitting stories with relentless determination, facing a long string of rejections before his first sale, “Spear and Fang,” was accepted in 1925.

This period was one of apprenticeship, as Howard churned out stories across genres—westerns, historical adventures, boxing tales, and horror—honing his raw, vigorous prose style. He was a natural storyteller, writing at a ferocious pace, often finishing a story in a single sitting. The harsh Texas landscape, a backdrop of oil booms and dust, and his own feelings of alienation and a deep-seated belief in the struggle for survival began to coalesce into a unique fictional voice. He found a kindred spirit in H.P. Lovecraft, with whom he began a prolific correspondence, debating their contrasting philosophies of life and history, with Howard championing a robust barbarism against Lovecraft’s cerebral cynicism.

The Cimmerian Dawn: The Birth of Conan and the Peak of Pulp (1929-1934)

The turning point in Howard’s career, and in the history of fantasy, came in late 1932 when he wrote a letter to fellow writer Farnsworth Wright outlining a new character: Conan, a Cimmerian barbarian. He described a world of “thickly clustered towers showing blackly against the sky” and a hero who was a “mass of iron-thewed muscles.” The first Conan story, “The Phoenix on the Sword,” appeared in the December 1932 issue of Weird Tales. It was an immediate sensation.

Howard had tapped into a powerful archetype. Conan was not a civilized man; he was a force of nature, a barbarian who, through sheer strength, cunning, and willpower, carves his way through a decadent and sorcery-ridden Hyborian Age. Unlike the elegiac fantasy of Lord Dunsany or the cosmic horror of Lovecraft, Howard’s stories were pure, kinetic adventure, drenched in visceral action and a grim, melancholic poetry. Over the next four years, in a burst of creative energy, Howard wrote twenty-one Conan stories and novelletes, including classics like “The Tower of the Elephant,” “Queen of the Black Coast,” and “Red Nails.” These works defined the “sword and sorcery” subgenre, a term later coined by Fritz Leiber to describe this distinct brand of personal, violent adventure set in a pre-modern world. During this time, Howard became one of Weird Tales‘ most popular and highest-paid authors, finally achieving the financial success he had sought.

A Shadow from the Gulf: Personal Tragedy and the End of an Era (1935-1936)

Despite his professional success, Howard’s personal life was dominated by a profound darkness. His mother, Hester, had been ill with tuberculosis for years, and Howard’s attachment to her was all-consuming. He had remained in Cross Plains largely to care for her, and the prospect of her death filled him with despair. His stories from this period, even the Conan tales, often feature themes of weary warriors, lost civilizations, and inevitable decay, reflecting his own morbid preoccupations.

In the spring of 1936, it became clear that Hester would not recover from her final coma. On the morning of June 11, after being informed she would not regain consciousness, Howard walked out to his car in the driveway, took a pistol from the glove compartment, and shot himself in the head. He died eight hours later; his mother passed away the following day. He was 30 years old. His suicide marked the abrupt end of one of the most vibrant and influential voices in American pulp fiction. The Hyborian Age died with its creator, leaving a collection of stories that, for decades, would exist in a strange limbo—beloved by fans but largely ignored by the literary establishment.

The Barbarian’s Afterlife: Posthumous Influence and Legacy

Robert E. Howard’s legacy is monumental, though it was built almost entirely after his death. In the 1950s, the Gnome Press published the first Conan collections, introducing the character to a new generation. The true explosion into popular consciousness came in the 1960s with the hugely successful Lancer/Ace paperback editions, which featured dynamic cover art by Frank Frazetta that perfectly captured the raw, savage spirit of the stories. These books, edited by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, who also completed and rewrote fragments, made Conan a household name and cemented the sword and sorcery genre.

Howard’s influence is foundational. He created the template for the barbarian hero, which influenced countless characters in fantasy literature, comic books (e.g., Marvel’s Conan and Wolverine), and film (e.g., Conan the Barbarian (1982)). Howard influenced and inspired later writers including Samuel R. Delany, David Gemmell, Michael Moorcock, Matthew Woodring Stover, Charles R. Saunders, Karl Edward Wagner, Paul Kearney, Steven Erikson, Joe R. Lansdale, and William King. He also has an influence on the field of fantasy fiction rivaled only by J. R. R. Tolkien and Tolkien’s similarly inspired creation of the modern genre of high fantasy. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and the World Fantasy Award trophy was a bust of Howard himself for many years.

Robert E. Howard’s work endures because of its primal power and unadorned storytelling. He gave voice to a philosophy of rugged individualism and the struggle against a corrupt and decaying world, themes that continue to resonate. For creating an iconic hero and an entire subgenre, Howard’s place as a pioneer of American fantasy is unassailable.

Robert E. Howard – First Editions Identification Guide

Complete Bibliography of Robert E. Howard: Novels, Rare Books & First Editions

Robert E. Howard – First Printing Dust Jackets Identification Guide

Gallery of First state Dust Jackets of Howard’s works.

Reference:

• Wikipedia
• L. W. Currey, Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors: A Bibliography of First Printings of Their Fiction and Selected Nonfiction.