Katherine Schofield
Department Director
Lot 43•
OZ Magazine: A Large Collection Of Magazines And Letters,
Feb 1967 - Nov 1973, Approx. 60 magazines
14 June 2022, 13:00 BST
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £4,462.50 inc. premium
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Claire Tole-Moir
Head of Department
Joseph Robson
Specialist
OZ Magazine: A Large Collection Of Magazines And Letters,
Feb 1967 - Nov 1973,
Issues No. 1, 3, 4 (x3), 6, 7 (x2 with pink posters), 8, 10 (x2), 11 (x2 orange and pink versions), 12, 13, 14 (x3), 15, 16, 17 (x2), 18 (x2), 19 (x2), 20, 21 (x3), 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 (x2), 27 (x2), 28 the now-infamous 'School Kids Issue' (x3), 29 (x2), 31 (yellow version), 30 (x2), 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47, 48, together with a collection of flyers and letters including; two 'Oz Appeal' flyers, a flyer for 'Oz Night at Middle Earth' with John Peel, an 'Oz Police Ball' flyer, another Oz poster, an 'Oz Obscenity Trial Procession' flyer, a postcard from Richard Neville to John Peel dated 1971, and various comical letters from Neville to Peel on Oz-headed paper, mostly typed and signed Richard, one handwritten and reading Unbelievably stupid, neurotic, hysterical me, misses you,
(Approx. 60 magazines)
Issues No. 1, 3, 4 (x3), 6, 7 (x2 with pink posters), 8, 10 (x2), 11 (x2 orange and pink versions), 12, 13, 14 (x3), 15, 16, 17 (x2), 18 (x2), 19 (x2), 20, 21 (x3), 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 (x2), 27 (x2), 28 the now-infamous 'School Kids Issue' (x3), 29 (x2), 31 (yellow version), 30 (x2), 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47, 48, together with a collection of flyers and letters including; two 'Oz Appeal' flyers, a flyer for 'Oz Night at Middle Earth' with John Peel, an 'Oz Police Ball' flyer, another Oz poster, an 'Oz Obscenity Trial Procession' flyer, a postcard from Richard Neville to John Peel dated 1971, and various comical letters from Neville to Peel on Oz-headed paper, mostly typed and signed Richard, one handwritten and reading Unbelievably stupid, neurotic, hysterical me, misses you,
(Approx. 60 magazines)
Footnotes
Arriving back in the UK in early 1967, Peel was receptive to the music and ideology of the emerging London Underground scene - of which Oz was a part. The most iconic and controversial counter-culture magazine of the sixties and early seventies, covering subjects such as feminism, gay rights, racism, sex, drugs, rock music and the Vietnam War. The magazine's use of visually striking graphic art and innovative printing techniques (including fold-out posters, metallic foils and new fluorescent inks), and provocative photographic images, was accompanied by equally provocative editorial content. One of the first Peel interviews to appear in print - in the period between the closedown of Radio London in August and the start of Radio 1 in October - appeared in Oz 6.
Issue 28, May 1970 (the School Kids Issue), which included a very adult Rupert Bear cartoon strip, led to obscenity charges being brought against the three editors. Peel appeared in court as a defence witness for Neville and co-editors at the trial, held at the Old Bailey in 1971. John Lennon was also one of the high profile supporters of the magazine and released the single "God Save Oz" in order to help raise funds for the magazine's defence. The three were found guilty, but their convictions were overturned following appeal, resulting in an embarrassing defeat for the Establishment.