Prostitution in the 19th Century

Where to go for a night in town? In nineteenth-century Amsterdam leaflets with tips on where one could have a 'peek at lady servants' or meet  "greek nymphs" were handed out on the streets. (1) In other metropolia, newsstands offered pocketbooks with addresses and reviews of local brothels and prostitutes. The old guides are still popular. In 2020  The pretty women of Paris , printed in 1883, was sold for  6.000 dollars  at an auction. For historians, these urban pleasure guides are interesting resources. Not because the given reviews provide new insights into what men considered important qualities of  'women of the night'. Those remarks have not changed much during the centuries. What is of interest is where public women and houses were located in a metropolis, the prices of services and descriptions of establishments. Fortunately, the originals can still be viewed in libraries or online and contemporary reprints can be bought at reasonable prices. (2)  ...

In addition to my previous blog post on chokers , I found an interesting online lecture series on the painting of Olympia by Manet. This particular episode included here, from a series of four videos, focuses on society and prostitution and is called: a social and sexual taboo.  The company responsible for this video is  Art d'Histoire . By producing video's in a lecture format their goal is to reach students and academics. The presentations contain references to mainly primary (printed) sources and according to the website, the content is entrusted to a team of historians and philosophers. The names of these researchers are, however, not included online.    All lectures are presented in French by  Lisa Martinot . Her presentation skills are excellent and the content is compelling and well researched. Unfortunately, the dubbed English version has been removed. The only addition I have to this particular lecture on prostitution is that I am missing a few e...

In 2016 I was asked if nineteenth-century women who wore a ribbon around their neck (or a choker  as it was called), were considered prostitutes? The reason for inquiring was a resurrection at the time of this type of necklace among celebrities and teenagers. And even now, five years later, Harpers Bazar still considers a choker a fashion trend . This past week during an online lecture on the Belle Epoque in Paris,  the choker was mentioned. This reminded me of the former question. So I did some searching for the answer. (1)   According to Encyclopaedia Britannica , the definition of a choker is:   "a necklace that fits closely around the neck like a snug, high collar". The reference source also explains that the choker became popular in the nineteenth century. In its most common early form, it contained one or several rows of pearls. Halfway through the century, a choker made of a velvet band with a pin or pearl became fashionable. The red ribbon version t...