Posted on 02/18/2020 9:36:32 AM PST by C19fan
A pamphlet published in 1849 offers a guide to Philadelphias gay houses and brothels, including reviews rating the best madams and working girls who can make a man happy.
The pamphlet is titled A Guide to the Stranger, or Pocket Companion for the Fancy, Containing a List of the Gay Houses and Ladies of Pleasure in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.
It offers a correct list and description of the greater portion of the Houses of Ill-Fame in Philadelphia.
According to Flashbak, the pamphlet contained reviews of brothels as well as bed houses, or rooms rented by the hour.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
It probably hurts a prostitute’s self esteem to not make the top 10,000 list.
There must only be 290,000 today.
Guessing “gay house” didn’t have the same meaning back then.
I recall reading about how there once was museum devoted to such things and, among the items shown, was a turn of the century police map of Washington DC that outlined where the brothels were located at the time. Many tended to congregate where congressmen and such others worked or lived.
In fairness, Philadelphia at the time was a major seaport. That’s a multiplier of 10.
The broth must have been really tasty!
And now we see the fallacy of genealogical family tree research based on written records. Sometimes branches don’t come from where people think they did.
The City Of Brothel-y Love?
It probably hurts a John's self esteem to find out his chosen date didn't make the top 10,000 list.
No wonder syphilis was so rampant in the 19th century.
Good to know some things stay the same.
Apparently all these DNA tests are revealing a lot of family scandals. There are stories all over Reddit (and by extension, YouTube).
I also recall reading that places like Cleveland and New Orleans were also quite known for it’s brothel population and activity, for that same reason as being port cities.
I worked in a gas station in HS back in the 70’s. One night a woman came in with a flat tire. We were just about ready to leave but we turned back on the compressor, unlocked the bay doors and fixed it.
Turns out she was the local madam and gave us a little card for a freebie and the location.
No we never used it.
“Apparently all these DNA tests are revealing a lot of family scandals.”
I know a few guys who really messed around back in the day and are nervous.
Similar but different - a book published at the same time detailing the various types of boarding houses in NYC.
https://archive.org/details/physiologyofny00gunnrich/page/n4/mode/2up
It’s an offbeat time capsule that had me in stitches.
“Buffalo girls won’t you come out tonight, come out tonight, come out tonight .” Most people don’t realize what the song is based on. And Buffalo was just the terminus of the Erie Canal, not even a seaport.
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