James Campbell Reddie (26 November 1807 – 4 July 1878) was a 19th-century
collector and author of
pornography
Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults, , who, writing as "James Campbell", worked for the publisher
William Dugdale
Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject.
Life
Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Coleshi ...
. According to
Henry Spencer Ashbee
Henry Spencer Ashbee (21 April 1834 – 29 July 1900)(Walter) was a book collector, writer, and bibliographer. He is notable for his massive, clandestine three-volume bibliography of erotic literature published under the pseudonym of Pisanus Fraxi ...
, Reddie was self-taught and viewed his works from a philosophical point of view.
Ancestry and family
The information in this section is gleaned from original birth, marriage and death records and last wills and testaments
James Campbell Reddie was born on 26 November 1807 in
Glasgow, Scotland, the third of eight children born to James Reddie Sr. (1775–1852) and Charlotte Marion Campbell (1782–1841).
James, Sr. was the son of John Reddie (1727–1805), a merchant in
Dysart, Fife, Scotland, and May Burd (1744–1815). John and May married on 26 October 1766, in
Tannadice, Scotland. James Sr. became the Principal town clerk and assessor to the magistrates of Glasgow 1804, after entering the Faculty of Advocates in 1797.
He married Charlotte Campbell on 12 August 1805, in Glasgow. Charlotte was the daughter of James Campbell (c. 1735–1800) and Marion Muirhead (1739–1815). James and Marion married on 30 August 1763, in
Govan, Scotland.
It appears James Reddie Sr. and his son were estranged from the time James Jr. was a young adult until the death of his father in 1852; a father who didn't even know if his son was alive or not. James Sr. left the bulk of his estate to his daughter, Charlotte, who took care of her father during the last years of his life. However, he did leave his son "the splendid Works of
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
in 72 volumes". The following is an excerpt from James Sr.'s will in regards to his son:
My second son James after his Professional Education Apprentice fee he received but little from me. Several of my plans for promoting and extending his business failed and as requested I had to give him a large Cash Credit with the Royal Bank - But being Cautioner for him to the Royal Bank to the extent of Two thousand Pounds and Interest. I have since he left us in the summer of 1845 had to pay to that bank for him in interim payments Four hundred pounds and upward of Two hundred and fifty pounds so as to reduce the Balance due to One Thousand six hundred Pounds for which I have assigned in security and payment of One thousand six hundred Pounds my life Policy with the Provident Office London worth at my death upwards of One thousand six hundred and forty Pounds - James therefore if alive has nothing to receive at my death.
Occupations
Writer to the Signet
Reddie was known by his full legal name in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Scotland, where he worked as a
Writer to the Signet
The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of document ...
, beginning his apprenticeship under David Cleghorn on 10 December 1829.
He continued in this profession until he relocated to England in 1849, where he took the name James Campbell, dropping his father's surname in favour of his mother's.
Writer and translator
The first appearance of a "James Campbell" in England was in the 1851
English census, in which he was recorded as living at 32 White Hart Street in
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
, and employed as a
compositor (typesetter).
In the 1861 census he was a lodger at 24 Manor-terrace in
Newington, London, employed as a writer and translator.
In 1871 he was living with the Adamo Pedroletti family, at 44 Brecknock Road in
Islington, London, England, and was at 26 Brecknock Crescent in 1875.
Reddie ("Campbell") is best known as an author and translator of
erotica
Erotica is literature or art that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use a ...
. Many of the original texts and translations of erotic literature published by
William Lazenby
William Lazenby (died c. 1888) was an English publisher of pornography active in the 1870s and 1880s. He used the aliases Duncan Cameron and Thomas Judd. His notable publications include magazines '' The Pearl'', which published poems thought to h ...
and
William Dugdale
Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject.
Life
Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Coleshi ...
were the work of "James Campbell". One of the earliest publications featuring the work of "Campbell" (still in Scotland at the time) was Dugdale's risqué newspaper ''The Exquisite''. Published from 1842 to 1844, ''The Exquisite'' contained "... a great number of tales from the French, with a few from the Italian, translated for the most part, if not entirely, by James Campbell ..."
According to
Henry Spencer Ashbee
Henry Spencer Ashbee (21 April 1834 – 29 July 1900)(Walter) was a book collector, writer, and bibliographer. He is notable for his massive, clandestine three-volume bibliography of erotic literature published under the pseudonym of Pisanus Fraxi ...
, Reddie was a serious, exacting collector and
bibliographer
Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...
of erotica. When he acquired a new book he would immediately collate it, investigate every available authority on it, and compare the book page by page and word by word with any other issue of the same work. If he was unable to acquire a scarce book, he frequently made copies by hand. He never refused to lend a book from his vast collection, even though often the borrower would forget to return it. Reddie was always liberal with his knowledge of erotica, imparting information gave him great satisfaction, and he spared neither time and labor in his research.
Personal life
Reddie was
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
and never married or had any known children. The November 1880 edition of the pornographic periodical ''The Pearl'', which was published by
William Lazenby
William Lazenby (died c. 1888) was an English publisher of pornography active in the 1870s and 1880s. He used the aliases Duncan Cameron and Thomas Judd. His notable publications include magazines '' The Pearl'', which published poems thought to h ...
, featured an item supposedly written by Reddie's landlord, Adamo Pedroletti, which stated "Mr. Reddie used to call me Petro ... I was continually afraid he would bring himself or both of us into serious trouble ... Mr. Reddie couldn't even bear for a woman to touch him". Pedroletti also detailed their mutual seduction of a fifteen-year-old boy, and Pedroletti's of the boy's mother.
Death
In April 1877, Reddie decided to leave England and return to Scotland due to ill-health. On 25 July 1877, shortly before his departure, he sold his collection of erotica to Ashbee for £300. He also gave Ashbee his three volume manuscript ''Bibliographical Notes on Books'', which was an invaluable resource for Ashbee in preparing the second and third volumes of his ''Bibliography of Prohibited Books'' (vol.1: 1877, vol.2: 1879, vol.3: 1885).
On 4 July 1878, in
Crieff
Crieff (; gd, Craoibh, meaning "tree") is a Scottish market town in Perth and Kinross on the A85 road between Perth and Crianlarich, and the A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy. The A822 joins the A823 to Dunfermline. Crieff has becom ...
,
Perth, Scotland
Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population o ...
, James Campbell Reddie died from a "general or wasting
palsy Palsy is a medical term which refers to various types of paralysisDan Agin, ''More Than Genes: What Science Can Tell Us About Toxic Chemicals, Development, and the Risk to Our Children;; (2009), p. 172. or paresis, often accompanied by weakness a ...
" (a progressive muscle degeneration and weakness, eventually leading to death), first diagnosed fifteen months earlier.
Books
Reddie's works include ''
The Amatory Experiences of a Surgeon'' (1881), ''
The Sins of the Cities of the Plain
''The Sins of the Cities of the Plain; or, The Recollections of a Mary-Ann, with Short Essays on Sodomy and Tribadism'', by the pseudonymous " Jack Saul", is one of the first exclusively homosexual works of pornographic literature published in E ...
'' (1881, with
Simeon Solomon
Simeon Solomon (9 October 1840 – 14 August 1905) was a British painter associated with the Pre-Raphaelites who was noted for his depictions of Jewish life and same-sex desire. His career was cut short as a result of public scandal following hi ...
)
and ''
The Mysteries of Verbena House
''The Mysteries of Verbena House, or, Miss Bellasis Birched for Thieving'' is a pornographic novel of flagellation erotica set in a girls' school, written under the pseudonym ''Etonensis'' by George Augustus Sala and completed by James Campbell ...
'' (1882, with
George Augustus Sala
George Augustus Henry Fairfield Sala (November 1828 – 8 December 1895) was an author and journalist who wrote extensively for the ''Illustrated London News'' as G. A. S. and was most famous for his articles and leaders for ''The Daily Telegra ...
).
Citations
References
* The Erotica Bibliophile
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Reddie, James Campbell
1807 births
1878 deaths
Scottish male novelists
19th-century Scottish novelists