Prostitution in the 19th Century

Last year a biography of one of the prominent social reformers and fighters for women's rights, Josephine Elizabeth Butler (1828-1906), was published. Although there have been several books written about her life -including an  autobiography - this new publication by Jane Robinson contains only 91 pages. (1) And even more striking: Josephine's life story from birth to death in chronicle order is told from pages 5-39. A remarkable book about a remarkable person.    Having a political reformer and abolitionist father combined with a Huguenot Christian mother, clearly influenced Josephine on her journey. At a young age, she marries George Butler, a schoolteacher and academic who would unconditionally support his wife's choices. The couple has four children of which their eldest daughter has a fatal accident in 1864. It is after this tragedy that Josephine starts becoming more actively involved in charity work and the abolitionist movement. "Women of the city" Josep

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 excellent historical s

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 that was tied around

What should you be reading during the summer holidays? I have listed my current favourite historic novels on prostitution, although, not all of them are set in the nineteenth century. Yet, the books have in common that they are character studies in which the main leads undergo a journey of transformation as a result of the choices they make. The stories are mainly told through the eyes of the protagonists and it even feels as if they are literally sitting next to you on a bench talking. As a reader, it seems rude to stand up and leave. Besides, you really really want to know how their stories evolve. So I can highly recommend these page-turners. Three of them are written in English and two in Dutch.  ENGLISH NOVELS 1. Michel Faber,  The crimson petal and the white (Edinburgh 2002) With almost 840 pages it is quite a journey you make with the main character. Yet it was one of the hardest books to put down. When the final chapter was nearing I had to put myself on a 'reading diet

If you were a foreigner arriving in late nineteenth-century Amsterdam, intending to live there for a period of time, then you were by Dutch law (Vreemdelingenwet) required to apply for a travel and residence pass at the police station. With this official document, you could reside in the city for three months, after which you could extend it three times. If your occupation was, however, related to prostitution the request would be denied by default. Although prostitution was a legal profession in the Netherlands, a Dutch municipality had to make its own regulations on the topic. Attempts in Amsterdam were made, but each proposal of regulating prostitution was rejected by the council, claiming this would only increase illegal prostitution in the city. (1)   The Amsterdam City Archives has a separate registration with the rejected application data of foreign women from 1874 to 1897. A considerable amount of requests were made by prostitutes. And it has been suggested that this register

Dan Snow spoke for the compelling history podcast  History Hit   with historian  Julia Laite  on violence against women in nineteenth-century London.  The reason for this interview was the murder of  Sarah Everard  in March of this year. Julia compares the case to  Emma Elizabeth Smith , who suffers the same fate after a visit to a London bar in 1888. The researcher has been conducting historical research for ten years into women who have sold sex in London and the violence they encountered. (1) She concludes that the closing of brothels at the end of the nineteenth century did not reduce violence towards women. On the contrary. It led to an increase against the most vulnerables.    Go to Podcast            (via Google Podcast)        Dark city With economic growth, more and more department stores, entertainment and coffee houses appeared in Late-Victorian London. The changes led to a higher number of upper and middle-class women on the streets: shopping, strolling or visiting a coffe

Looking at an old photograph of a person really brings the past to life. If you are lucky enough to find one from the 19th Century at an archive, then chances are that the depicted person was having problems with the law. And if he or she was added to the Dutch  secret register of released prisoners , it was even worse. Because then they had committed a serious offence and were considered dangerous for society . Access to the register was in those times limited to people working in specific professions. Nowadays you can  find the old register online  at the Provincial Archives of Brabant ( Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum - BHIC). (1) Among the listed, I found brothel owners and prostitutes, like the grim-looking man you see on the right. His name was Gerardus Mulder.  The initiative for a secret register came from the Minister of Justice at the time, Anthony Modderman .  (2) From 1882 to 1897 all persons that had been convicted for serious offences were photographed before re