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174.
An original ‘Friends of Oz’ Press Kit (June 1971).
Designed and compiled by Richard Adams. Large quarto glossy yellow card folder, with Oz pregnant elephant sticker to front cover. The kits were reputed to have been distributed to The New York Times, The Herald Tribune, Le Monde and Der Spiegel by the ‘Friends of Oz’ campaign, which was run by Stan Demidjuk and Sue Miles from an office in Pottery Lane (the ‘Oz Obscenity Centre’), located immediately behind the Oz offices in Notting Hill. Its intention was to raise money for the legal defence, although following advice from their lawyers, it had to be entirely separate since the three editors were applying for legal aid. The folder contains:
i) a 9pp. brochure - ‘Presenting the Oz Obscenity Trial’. Nine quarto sheets, printed in black on rectos only on different colour paper stock, stapled at top corner. Though not called for, this copy has been SIGNED by Richard Neville on the first page. Prints four portrait drawings of the editors by Rod Beddall, their brief self-penned biographies, a full-page photo of Detective Inspector Luff, mentions of recent underground obscenity busts (IT, Unicorn Bookshop), several newspaper quotes, and ‘The Politics of Obscenity’, reprinted from the Oxford student paper, Cherwell. Staple slightly rusted, o/w Near Fine;
ii) eight 8x10 b/w photographs by David Nutter: five portray Richard Neville, Felix Dennis and Jim Anderson as long-haired businessmen in bowler hats; one shows the trio dressed as St. Trinian’s schoolgirls in gym slips; another is a group shot of the school kid co-conspirators with the three defendants, taken in April 1970 in the back garden at 38 Palace Gardens Terrace (originally published in Oz #28); and the final photograph show the three editors with staff members in the Oz office, arms and fists raised in defiant pose. Prints slightly curled, o/w Very Good plus;
iii) two ‘Oz Obscenity Trial’ stickers, Honeybunch Kaminski and pregnant elephant. Fine;
iv) three small posters for the ‘Independence Day Carnival’ demonstration held in Hyde Park on July 4th, organised by the ‘Friends of Oz’ “to support the defendants in the OZ Obscenity Trial”. One printed in black on pale lilac paper, another other printed in black on yellow paper, and the third (double-sided) printed in black on turquoise blue paper; each 42x27cm., folded once. Slight lower edge creasing to lilac version, o/w Fine;
v) the scarce large-size poster variant, reproducing the same ‘Independence Day Carnival’ announcement, printed in black on yellow paper (76x50.5cm.), recto only. Folded in three. Fine;
vi) printed sheet reproducing David Hockney’s nude drawings of the three defendants (21x29.7cm.). Four faint spots, o/w Near Fine.
Slight interior spotting to folder, with a little lower corner creasing, o/w an excellent copy of this scarce item, more so signed by Richard Neville (the contents of the press packs varied: some lacked one or more of the inserts or included only two photographs; this copy is exceptional in including eight photos).
