Checklists

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