Elton Raymond Shaw (1886–1955) was a churchman, author and publisher, lecturer and educator, campaigner in the

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

and

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

and a

naturist Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms a ...

Early life

Shaw was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, on 19 January 1886 to Rev'd Solomon Benjamin Shaw and Etta Ellen Sadler. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a double major in history and oratory and minors in English, political science and social science. Shaw led the debating team, was president of the Prohibition League, and president of the Literary Society. In 1900 he was living with a widowed aunt and his cousins in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. By 1910, he was married and living in Grand Rapids with his wife Mable (née Bacon) and her parents.

Naturism

In 1937 Elton published his book on nudism ''The Body Taboo: Its Origins, Effects and Modern Denial''. He authored this work in Lansing, Michigan, and published out of new offices in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

In a

Lansing State Journal The ''Lansing State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Lansing, Michigan, owned by Gannett. Overview The ''Lansing State Journal'' is the sole daily newspaper published in Greater Lansing. The newspaper had an average Monday through ...

article dated August 24, 1936, Shaw explained his interest in nudism began when he learned of the 1934 case of People vs. Ring. Shaw believed “famed Kalamazoo nudist leader, Fred Ring” had received a “raw deal” relating to his prosecution stemming from charges at an Allegan County nudist camp. Shaw was also an opponent of the

Comstock laws The Comstock laws were a set of federal acts passed by the United States Congress under the Grant administration along with related state laws.Dennett p.9 The "parent" act (Sect. 211) was passed on March 3, 1873, as the Act for the Suppression of ...

. He wrote the book ''What Shall We Do with the "Comstock" Law and the Post Office Censorship Power?''.

Prohibition and Temperance

Shaw wrote a number of books on this topic and was an office holder in various committees including the Prohibition State Committee of Michigan (and later for Ohio) and the Intercollegiate Prohibition Association.

Church work

Shaw served in leadership roles in the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

Publishing

Shaw was president of Shaw Publishing Company (formerly S. B. Shaw, Publisher founded in 1893 by his father Solomon Shaw).

Publications

* * * * * * * which was co-written with

Wayne Wheeler Wayne Bidwell Wheeler (November 10, 1869 – September 5, 1927) was an American attorney and longtime leader of the Anti-Saloon League. The leading advocate of the prohibitionist movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s, he played a major ...

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Notes and references

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Elton Raymond Censorship in the United States Methodists from Michigan Social nudity advocates American temperance activists American publishers (people) 1886 births 1955 deaths American naturists