“A Catalogue of Jilts, Cracks and Prostitutes, Nightwalkers, Whores, She-Friends, Kind Women and Others of the Linnen-Lifting Tribe”

(NYTBR) Librarians may regard me as a highbrow pervert, frowning over their spectacles at my choice of reading matter. In certain archives, I’ve even been directed to sit at a solitary table, where my movements can be carefully watched. But I’ve learned to ignore the suspicious looks. The truth is, for any writer who is researching a “golden age” of vice — whether it be Renaissance Venice, Georgian London, belle époque Paris or fin de siècle New Orleans — there is nothing quite so satisfying as a guide to local harlots. Continued

Photo: E. J. Bellocq