Imagination: Stories of Science and Fantasy, July 1955 (Volume 6, No. 7)

Book shows little wear to creaseless covers , date stamp on front cover. Binding is solid and square, covers have sharp corners, exterior shows no other blemishes, text/interior is clean and free of marking of any kind on age-toned paper, 130 pages with ads, b&w and two-color illustrations. Contents include stories: Newshound, Space Gamble, Export Commodity, The Chromium Fence, The lonely . The story by P.K. Dick The Chromium Fence is set in a future where political differences have been reduced to trivialities, the "purists" are pitted against the "naturalists". The purists wish to make the adoption of cosmetic changes (sweat glands removed, teeth fixed and so on) compulsory. The purist and naturalist mantra in this story is shown as one extreme manifestation of the brain-washing. The central character, Don Walsh, seems the only sane man left and refuses to join either side. Eventually, however, he is forced to act and pays the ultimate price. This story was never reprinted anywhere after its single appearance in the magazine Imagination, until the appearance of Dick's collected stories in 1987.