Famous Fantastic Mysteries was an American science fiction and fantasy pulp magazine published from 1939 to 1953, edited by Mary Gnaedinger. It was launched by the Munsey Company to reprint stories from their magazines, including Argosy. Frequently reprinted authors included George Allan England, A. Merritt, and Austin Hall. The artwork, including some of the best work of Virgil Finlay and Lawrence Stevens, contributed to the success of the magazine. In late 1942 Popular Publications acquired the title from Munsey, and Famous Fantastic Mysteries stopped reprinting short stories from the earlier magazines. It continued to reprint longer works, including titles by G. K. Chesterton, H. G. Wells, and H. Rider Haggard. Original short fiction also began to appear, including Arthur C. Clarke's "Guardian Angel", which later formed the first section of his novel Childhood's End. In 1951 the publishers experimented briefly with a large digest format, but returned quickly to the original pulp layout. (Full article...)