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Imagination/Imaginative Tales/Space travel

Imagination was an American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in October 1950 by Raymond Palmer's Clark Publishing Company. The magazine was sold almost immediately to Greenleaf Publishing Company, owned by William Hamling, who published and edited it from the third issue, February 1951, for the rest of the magazine's life. Hamling launched a sister magazine, Imaginative Tales, in 1954; both ceased publication at the end of 1958 in the aftermath of major changes in US magazine distribution due to the liquidation of American News Company.

The magazine was more successful than most of the numerous science fiction titles launched in the late 1940s and early 1950s, lasting a total of 63 issues. Despite this success, the magazine had a reputation for low-quality space opera and adventure fiction, and modern literary historians refer to it in dismissive terms. Hamling consciously adopted an editorial policy oriented toward entertainment, asserting in an early issue that "science fiction was never meant to be an educational tour de force". Few of the stories from Imagination have received recognition, but it did publish Robert Sheckley's first professional sale, "Final Examination", in the May 1952 issue, and also printed fiction by Philip K. Dick, Robert A. Heinlein and John Wyndham.

Imagination

1950                  
v1 #1
Oct
 
v1 #2
Dec
1951  
v2 #1
#3
Feb
 
v2 #2
#4
Apr
 
v2 #3
#5
Jun
   
v2 #4
#6
Sep
 
v2 #5
#7
Nov
 
1952
v3 #1
#8
Jan
 
v3 #2
#9
Mar
 
v3 #3
#10
May
 
v3 #4
#11
Jul
 
v3 #5
#12
Sep

v3 #6
#13
Oct
 
v3 #7
#14
Dec
1953
v4 #1
#15
Jan

v4 #2
#16
Feb
 
v4 #3
#17
Apr

v4 #4
#18
May

v4 #5
#19
Jun

v4 #6
#20
Jul

v4 #7
#21
Aug

v4 #8
#22
Sep

v4 #9
#23
Oct

v4 #10
#24
Nov

v4 #11
#25
Dec
1954
v5 #1
#26
Jan

v5 #2
#27
Feb

v5 #3
#28
Mar

v5 #4
#29
Apr

v5 #5
#30
May

v5 #6
#31
Jun

v5 #7
#32
Jul

v5 #8
#33
Aug

v5 #9
#34
Sep

v5 #10
#35
Oct

v5 #11
#36
Nov

v5 #12
#37
Dec
1955
v6 #1
#38
Jan

v6 #2
#39
Feb

v6 #3
#40
Mar

v6 #4
#41
Apr

v6 #5
#42
May

v6 #6
#43
Jun

v6 #7
#44
Jul
   
v6 #8
#45
Oct
 
v6 #9
#46
Dec
1956  
v7 #1
#47
Feb
 
v7 #2
#48
Apr
 
v7 #3
#49
Jun
 
v7 #4
#50
Aug
 
v7 #5
#51
Oct
 
v7 #6
#52
Dec
1957  
v8 #1
#53
Feb
 
v8 #2
#54
Apr
 
v8 #3
#55
Jun
 
v8 #4
#56
Aug
 
v8 #5
#57
Oct
 
v8 #6
#58
Dec
1958  
v9 #1
#59
Feb
 
v9 #2
#60
Apr
 
v9 #3
#61
Jun
 
v9 #4
#62
Aug
 
v9 #5
#63
Oct
   

Imaginative Tales

Title was changed to Space Travel with the July 1958 issue.

1954                
v1 #1
Sep
 
v1 #2
Nov
 
1955
v1 #3
Jan
 
v1 #4
Mar
 
v1 #5
May
 
v1 #6
Jul
 
v2 #1
Sep
 
v2 #2
Nov
 
1956
v3 #1
Jan
 
v3 #2
Mar
 
v3 #3
May
 
v3 #4
Jul
 
v3 #5
Sep
 
v3 #6
Nov
 
1957
v4 #1
Jan
 
v4 #2
Mar
 
v4 #3
May
 
v4 #4
Jul
 
v4 #5
Sep
 
v4 #6
Nov
 
1958
v5 #1
Jan
 
v5 #2
Mar
 
v5 #3
May
 
v5 #4
Jul
 
v5 #5
Sep
 
v5 #6
Nov