George Cannon (1789–1854) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

solicitor, radical activist and publisher and pornographer who also used the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s Erasmus Perkins and Philosemus. Around 1812 he became associated with freethinking discussion groups in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and in 1815 he edited, as "Erasmus Perkins", a radical periodical ''Theological Inquirer; or Polemical Magazine'', with which

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...

was associated, and in which "Perkins" published extracts from ''

Queen Mab Queen Mab is a fairy referred to in William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', where "she is the fairies' midwife". Later, she appears in other poetry and literature, and in various guises in drama and cinema. In the play, her activity i ...

'': his relationship with Shelley was somewhat hostile. Cannon contributed to the ''

Political Register The ''Cobbett's Weekly Political Register'', commonly known as the ''Political Register'', was a weekly London-based newspaper founded by William Cobbett in 1802. It ceased publication in 1836, the year after Cobbett's death. History Originally ...

'' of

William Benbow William Benbow (1787 – 1864) was a nonconformist preacher, pamphleteer, pornographer and publisher, and a prominent figure of the Reform Movement in Manchester and London.Daniel Isaac Eaton Daniel Isaac Eaton (1753–1814) was an English radical author, publisher and activist. He was tried eight times for selling radical literature and convicted in 1812 for selling ''The Age of Reason''. Eaton was the publisher of the popular p ...

. He acted as lawyer for the anti-slavery campaigner Robert Wedderburn and may have drafted some of his polemics. In 1822 he was publishing obscene anti-establishment parodies and satires; by 1830 his publications were sheer pornography and he was prosecuted numerous times: in 1830 he was convicted of obscene libel for publishing a French-language edition of

de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine human sexuality, sexuality as well as n ...

's '' Juliette''.McCalman (1988) p. 204 His pornographic publications specialised in flagellation with such titles as '' The Birchen Bouquet'', ''

Exhibition of Female Flagellants ''Exhibition of Female Flagellants'' is an 1830 pornographic novel published by George Cannon in London and attributed, probably falsely, to Theresa Berkley. The principal activity described is flagellation, mainly of women by women, described ...

'' and, as "Philosemus", ''Venus School-Mistress''. He promoted the exhibition of the

Berkley Horse The Berkley Horse is a BDSM apparatus, designed for, and by, Theresa Berkley in 1828. She referred to it as a "chevalet". Autumn Stanley, ''Mothers and daughters of invention: notes for a revised history of technology'', Rutgers University Press, ...

by the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

in 1837 after it was bequeathed to them by inventor

Theresa Berkley Theresa Berkley or Berkeley (died September 1836) was a 19th-century English dominatrix who ran a brothel in Hallam Street, just to the east of Portland Place, Marylebone, London, specialising in flagellation. She is notable as the inventor of th ...

. Cannon died in 1854 and his widow continued his publishing business.

References

* * 1789 births 1854 deaths British activists English solicitors English pornographers Publishers (people) from London 19th-century English lawyers 19th-century British businesspeople {{UK-activist-stub