Guidebooks to Sin: The Blue Books of Storyville, New Orleans - Hardcover

"Beautifully produced by the Historic New Orleans Collection, this abundantly illustrated history of turn-of-the-century prostitution offers an unusual and fascinating glimpse into America s past...Rare and vivid evidence of the thriving business of pleasure." --KIRKUS REVIEW

"Quirky adverts for prostitutes, hangover cures and venereal disease treatments: New book lifts the lid on New Orleans' legal red light district and how johns looked for sex before the net... Author Pamela D Arceneaux, has pulled back the curtain in her new book, 'Guidebooks to Sin: The Blue Books of Storyville, New Orleans' " --The Daily Mail

Between 1897 and 1917, a legal red-light district thrived at the edge of the French Quarter, helping establish the notorious reputation that adheres to New Orleans today. Though many scholars have written about Storyville, no thorough contemporary study of the blue books the neighborhood s guidebooks, featuring directories of prostitutes and advertisements for liquor, brothels, and venereal disease cures is available.
Pamela D. Arceneaux s examination of these rare guides invites readers into a version of Storyville created by its own entrepreneurs. A foreword by historian Emily Epstein Landau places the blue books in the context of their time, coincident with the rise of American consumer culture and modern advertising. Heavily illustrated with images of the blue books in The Historic New Orleans Collection s holdings, Guidebooks to Sin illuminates the intersection of race, commerce, and sex at this seminal place and time in New Orleans history.