Reference: John Olsen, Teeming with Life, His Complete Graphics 1957 - 2005 by Ken McGregor & Jeffrey Makin,
[Note there is the unissued suppressed edition – one of only two extant copies known. Offert by Australian Book Auctions March 2022: The copy of Lou Klepac, who wrote the introduction, signed by him on the title-page and signed by John Olsen on the limitation page; Olsen has also crossed through the whole page and written “cancelled” underneath. A long note in the copy of publisher Richard Griffin tells the story. In his inimitable, amusing, and possibly libellous style, Griffin relates at length how he was only able to see a copy of the book half-an-hour before the launch. He immediately saw that the printer had transposed pages, positioned text improperly, and generally made the book unacceptable. After a heated discussion between artist, publisher, and gallery owner, he found himself and his books on the street. He states that all copies were guillotined apart from his own that was later extensively marked up and pasted up for the correct second edition of 1980 (Richard Griffin’s copy, James Hardie Library, State Library of Queensland). It is evident that the eccentric Griffin was too aggravated, in his self-dramatising way, to notice that Klepac had palmed a copy, and maybe the others did too. So, while Griffin’s copy is indeed unique by virtue of his annotation, it is clearly not the only copy in existence. Cains 135.] [A second edition published in 2011 titled John Olsen - Teeming With Life - His Complete Graphics 1955 - 2011].
Publishing details: Macmillan, 2005, hc, dw, 264pp,
Location: 0