Fate Magazine - True Stories of the Strange and The Unknown. Winter, 1949. Colonel P.H. Fawcett; Montgomery, AL- EAL Pilot UFO Sighting of 7-24-48 "Spaceshiip"; Phantom of Pleskau Airfield; "Was Joan of Arc's Death Faked?"; Lost Planet; Mysterious Palladino; Lerasle Affair; Automatic Writing; Precognition; Criswell Predicts; Modern Methuselahs

Chicago: Clark Publishing Company, 1949. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Soft cover. Very Good. 12mo - over 6¾ - 7¾" tall. Very Good. See description and scans. Chicago, IL: Clark Publishing Company, 1949. The Winter, 1949 issue of Fate Magazine - Volume 1, Number 4, a scarce and without doubt an especially seminal issue in the first year of Raymond A. Palmer's now-legendary paranormal-reporting non-fiction enterprise - which began with, in its first issue, Kenneth Arnold's cover account of flying crescents which "skipped like saucers across a pond", an event which, for whatever reason, kicked off the modern era of UFO events. After that, Fate introduced countless events which remain, to this day, fodder for paranormal documentaries and investigation. 12mo, illustrated stapled wraps, 96 pp. Very Good; moderate edge wear and creasing, spine slits at top and bottom, very unobtrusive rubbing. Inevitable age-toning to the still-very-supple newsprint pages is at, or less than, average. See scans. Surprisingly nice condition for a periodical which often shows substantial wear from use even in its much later years. The content of this issue places it - IMHO - right beside that of the first issue. Cover illustration depicts Colonel P.H. Fawcett, the lost Amazonian explorer, as being of somewhat shrunken head after his (claimed herein) finding by Dr. Eckener. Other serious stick-to-the-ribs topics include two meaningful early UFO sighting pieces (one being the 7-24-48 "Spaceship" sighting by an EAL pilot above Montgomery), The Phantom of Pleskau Airfield; "Was Joan of Arc's Death Faked?"; The Lost Planet; The Mysterious Palladino; The Lerasle Affair; Automatic Writing; Precognition; Modern Methuselahs; an Early Criswell Predicts; and more. Already, at this time, a Tour de Force of enthusiastic updates on the paranormal or inexplicable phenomena. Interior art and photography is largely uncredited. A piece of paranormal history, and an example of a unique branch of Americana, in very highly collectible condition. A very rare issue. Please see scans. LT23