Richard Neville; Richard Walsh; Martin Sharp
Sydney: Oz Publications Ink, 1963-1970.

The foundational Australian edition of Oz, edited by Richard Neville, Richard Walsh, and Martin Sharp and published in Sydney between 1963 and 1969, with the reduced-format fortnightly newsletters continuing into 1970 under Walsh and Dean Letcher. Preceding and inspiring the the better-known London Oz (1967-1973), the Australian edition tackled censorship, homosexuality, police corruption, the White Australia policy, and the Vietnam War, provoking a series of obscenity prosecutions, culminating in a 1964 conviction that was later overturned on appeal. Sharp’s covers and illustrations, ranging from early satirical cartooning to full psychedelic intensity, chart his emergence as one of Australia’s most significant pop artists. Complete in 41 issues of the magazine proper, together with a complete set of the rarely seen newsletters (Nos. 42-82) including the election special (No. 56). A high point of Australian underground publishing.

Frank Moorhouse
[Sydney]: [Tomato Press for The Author], No date.

Circa 1973. Pirated edition of illustrated erotic stories planned as an illegal publication in protest of censorship of the printed word, stemming from a case brought against underground newspaper Thor. The Whitlam government passed legislation that brought an end to the censorship yet the printer of this booklet went ahead with privately selling the publication against Moorehouse’s wishes, though also purported that it was delayed because Moorhouse wanted to edit the stories. A competing story has it that Moorhouse commissioned the printing but could not pay for it, so Tomato Press sold the entire inventory to a Sydney secondhand bookdealer to recoup the loss, but this all be hearsay. Illustrated throughout, some Robert Crumb pirates, but largely original unattributed erotic illustrations by Jenny Coopes and others. CAINS 118.

[Aleister Crowley]
London and Felling-on-Tyne: The Walter Scott Publishing Co., 1909.

First edition, published anonymously, of Crowley’s systematic tables of Qabalistic correspondences, drawing on the work of Mathers, Allan Bennett, and George Cecil Jones. One of 500 copies. The loosely inserted Tree of Life plate and the detachable subscription form for the Equinox are both present.

Frances E. Willard
New York, Chicago, Toronto: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1895.

Willard was 53 when she took up cycling in 1893, framing the endeavour as both a personal discipline and a broader statement on women’s physical independence. The bicycle had become a potent symbol within contemporary women’s reform movements, offering practical mobility and challenging restrictive dress codes and expectations of feminine decorum. Published at the height of the late 19th-century bicycle craze, Willard’s account blends memoir with advocacy, arguing that mastering the wheel was an exercise in self-reliance applicable well beyond the road. A notable contribution to the literature of first-wave feminism and women’s sporting history.

Adina Yurana
Sydney: Howard Publications, 1972.

The high point of Howard Publications 1970s Australian erotica output, a fully illustrated exploration of the car’s influence on man’s sexual behaviour. Lengthy text by Adina Yurana accompanies five photographic series of couples making love in and on their cars in Australia’s great outdoors. Featuring a Mercedes-Benz 280C (The Limousine Lover), a Ford Falcon 500 (The Countryman), a Nissan Patrol (The Great White Hunter), and a Meyers Manx dune buggy (Beachbuggy).

Hera
Toronto: Stewart Gordon Publications, 1967.

Pre-Stonewall lesbian periodical (complete in two parts) published under the pseudonymous editorship of “Hera,” comprising confessional-style narratives presented as authentic letters from lesbian correspondents. Includes purportedly authentic but likely fictionalised first-person accounts of lesbian desire, seduction, and relationships, alongside an advice column attributed to “Dr. G. Klow.” Published by Stewart Gordon Publications, a Toronto and New York erotica house also responsible for editions of de Sade. The publication follows the conventions of 1960s commercial sleaze, with pseudonymous authorship and a thin clinical veneer. A relatively refined example of sensationalist lesbian-themed print culture, adopting a more polished tone while remaining within the conventions of male-oriented commercial erotica.

Trina Beaumont
Sydney [Ulladulla]: The Seahorse Club of Australia, 1981.

Illustrated novella published by Seahorse, Australia’s first transgender support organisation. Authored by Trina Beaumont (formerly Trina Taylor), long-time editor of the club’s newsletter, Feminique, and a media advocate for the organisation during the 1970s. At the time, Seahorse primarily served heterosexual men who enjoyed cross-dressing, presenting members as ordinary men who occasionally adopted female attire. The novella includes illustrations by Di Ward and represents a rare example of early Australian transgender literature and community-produced publishing. A single copy recorded in OCLC, at the State Library of New South Wales.

Sandra Lawrence; Ken Williams
New York: Lancer Books, 1967.

Pulp photo novel set in the mod subculture of 1960s London. Bohemian youths and motorcycles captured by Ken Williams.