Magazine, Oz, No. 46, January/February 1973, colour offset lithography on paper, London, 1973.
This is the second last issue of Oz magazine, an outrageous satirical magazine (published Sydney and London 1963-1979) which shocked England and Australia in the 1960s. The magazine began life in Sydney with Richard Neville and Richard Walsh as editors and renowned Australian designer Martin Sharp doing many of the graphics. Satirically, the first issue hit the streets on April Fool's Day 1963. London Oz (established February 1967) was a much better-produced and altogether more colourful publication than its Australian predecessor. However, it too had problems with the authorities. Richard Neville, Felix Dennis and Jim Anderson faced trial for corrupting public morals following publication of the now infamous School Kids Issue (London Oz, No 28) in 1970. Although Oz ceased publication in 1973, the legacy of the controversial School Kids Issue trial and Oz's existence as an underground press leader inspired an array of art works including David Hockney's drawings, Caroline Coon's painting of the defendants, Anderson, Neville and Dennis, naked, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono's song, God Save Oz.

References:
Jane Conners, Laughing at the Royals, in Australians and the Monarchy, 1993 - http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/teach/resources/austudies/latr.html.
Cygnet Online, February 2004 http://www.library.uwa.edu.au/collection/australian/page3.html.
http://www.coastweb.de/ftp/slowhand/text_info/disraeli_gears_cover.txt.
http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/exhibitions/magazines/xmagazines4.html 2004.
Berwyn Lewis, 'Viva Vincent,' The Australian Magazine, July 14015, 1990 p39.
Richard Neville, Hippie, Hippie Shake, William Heinemann Australia, 1995.
Peter Mudie, UBU: Sydney Underground Movies 1966-70, UNSW Press, 1997.
Oz magazine, London - alt.venus.co.uk/weed/zines/oz01_04.htm - 4k - 6 Mar 2004
Tony Palmer, The Trials of Oz, Blond & Briggs, 1971. (Detailed document of the Oz case, the longest obscenity trial in English history, incl. transcripts. Drawings by Feliks Topolski.)
Yvette Steinhauer, Face to face: along the Yellow House road, Good Weekend, 16 April, 1988 p8.
Nick Waterlow, Larrikins in London: An Australian presence in 1960s London exhibition catalogue, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, UNSW, 4 September - 11 October, 2003.
Greg Weight, 'Martin Sharp - Australian Artist' - http://www.greenplanet.com.au/gallery/msharp/workin.htm.

The magazine was published by OZ Publications Ink Ltd, London, England in January/February 1973. The cover of the magazine was created by Ken Pereiny.

This is the second last issue of Oz magazine.

Oz (Sydney and London, 1963-1973) was a controversial magazine that shocked Sydney and London during the 1960s. It's larrikin attitude, which was very much in the tradition of the student newspapers where its founders had earlier forays into publishing, concentrated on social satire with humorous cartoons and other artistic material depicting politicians, royalty, and other public figures in an irreverent fashion. Although articles of more serious socio-political content were also featured, Oz's prominent anti-establisment profile publically quickly made it a target for censorship. Australian Oz became a prominent casualty of the so-called 'Censorship Wars' with Issue no. 6 (Feb. 1964). Editors Richard Neville, Richard Walsh, and artist Martin Sharp, were charged under obscenity laws and found guilty under the Obscene and Indecent Publications Act and sentenced to jail terms with hard labour - a decision quashed on appeal. This controversy gained Martin Sharp a considerable public following leading to his successful first one-man exhibition at the Clune Galleries in Sydney in 1965. 'Art for Mart's Sake' virtually sold out on the opening night thereby broadening the artist's horizons. After their experience of the first OZ trial, Neville and Sharp needed little encouragement to leave Australia for England where they launched London Oz in February 1967 (London Oz ceased publication in May 1973 after 47 UK editions). Like its Australian predecessor, London Oz also became the subject of an obsenity trial following the after publication of the controversial 'School Kids Issue' in 1970.

The vendor has been a collector of leftist posters and printed matierial in Paris and Australia since the late 1960s.

Magazine, 'Oz', No. 46, January/February 1973, colour offset lithography on paper, cover by Ken Pereiny, published by OZ Publications Ink Ltd, London, England, 1973

Magazine titled 'Oz', price 25p, with a paper cover decorated with a colour drawing of a figure, naked from the waist down, with a platypus head, jumping away from a toilet bowl. The figure is wearing a hat, coat, one shoe and chains around the wrist and ankle. In the background is grass and vegetation. A bird's wing is protruding from the toilet bowl. The magazine consists of 48 pages and has a stapled spine. Inside the magazine are photographs, drawings, articles and advertisements in colour. The cover artist's name and magazine publication details are printed on the inside of the front cover.

Publisher: Oz Publications Ink Limited; London, England; 1973

Artist: Pereiny, Ken


Owner: unknown; Sydney

Printed on the inside front cover, in white 'OZ is printed and published by OZ Publications / Ink Ltd. 19 Great Newport Street, London WC2. / 01-836 2857 (main lines) / 01-836 3951 (mail order and subscriptions)'

2004/93/4

1973

285 mm

207 mm

2 mm