City of Eros: New York City, Prostitution, and the Commercialization of Sex, 1790-1920

by Timothy J. Gilfoyle

Winner of the Allan Nevins Prize of the Society of American Historians and the New York State Historical Association Manuscript Prize

Genres: History, Nonfiction, New York, American History, Sexuality, Research, United States

462 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1992

Reviews

[Len · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone picking up a copy of this book expecting to find something salacious will be disappointed. It is a firmly academic work examining the history, social relevance and economy of the sex industry in New York City from the end of the 18th century to 1920. There are maps, statistical tables, a lengthy section of footnotes, a substantial bibliography, and some not very high quality illustrations to add to the author's detailed analysis.

The early period up to 1819 is covered quite briefly. The remainder is divided between Antebellum New York 1820-1870, Halcyon Years which overlaps dealing with the period 1855 to 1870, and Comstock's New York 1871-1920. Part One deals with the establishment of recognized brothels and districts associated with prostitution: Five Points, the West Side, Water and Cherry Streets, and The Hook; the growth of the so-called "whorearchy"; reactions to the presence of brothels in rioting and the subsequent rise in the use of pimps; and the appearance of the "Sporting Man", the supposedly rakish habitue and regular customer for sexual services - the section also covers the case of the murder of Helen Jewett and the controversial acquittal of the chief suspect.

Part Two looks at the growth and financial success of the sex industry and the people who began to exploit it. In addition to traditional brothels prostitutes were able to use theatres, music halls, saloons and hotels and the spread of the industry along Broadway. There was also the beginnings of a political and stronger moral reaction. There is an interesting chapter on the literature associated with New York's sex trade, some pornographic and some morally well-meaning. A final section looks at the nature of New York's brothels and "bawdy houses."

Part Three examines the political and moral moves to control the industry, particularly the work of Anthony Comstock. A chapter takes a tour through the ever moving sex districts: the Tenderloin, the African Tenderloin, the Rialto, East Side, Bleeker Street and Washington Square, Lower East Side, below Canal Street, above 59th Street, and the outer boroughs. The next chapter targets the debauchery enjoyed by all ranks of New York society- if they had the money - particularly the riotous French Balls and the menace of crime which grew in influence. There is a chapter on the white slave trade, the abduction of young girls from country towns with a promise of employment which only led to forced prostitution. And a closing chapter on the increasingly organized and successful suppression of sex as an industry in New York.

If the book has a weakness - in my opinion, that is - it is that the author never seems to free himself from the idea that prostitution is the fault of the prostitutes. The male customers may be dupes or mugs desperate for sex, but none of what happens is their fault. Even the infection of syphilis can be blamed on the women. Perhaps it was best that the author avoided being judgmental or moralistic himself, such views may be seen as out of place in a work of academic study.

The books the author discusses in his chapter on "Gay" literature are listed below:

Eleanor Maria Ames (writing as Eleanor Kirk), Up Broadway and its sequel: A life story
Harrison Gray Buchanan, Asmodeus: Or, Legends of New York. Being a Complete Exposé of the Mysteries, Vices and Doings, As Exhibited by the Fashionable Circles of New York
Ned Buntline, The B'hoys of New York
Ned Buntline, The g'hals of New York: a novel. By Ned Buntline pseud. 1879 Leather Bound
Ned Buntline, The Mysteries and Miseries of New York
Ned Buntline, Three Years After
George G. Foster, Celio, or, New York above-ground and under-ground. by George G Foster
George G. Foster, New York by Gas-Light and Other Urban Sketches
George G. Foster, New York in Slices.
Marie Louise Hankins, Women of New York
George Thompson, City Crimes; Or, Life in New York and Boston
George Thompson, The Countess; or, Memoirs of Women of Leisure
George Thompson, The Gay Girls of New-York, or, Life on Broadway
John D. Vose, Fresh Leaves From The Diary Of A Broadway Dandy
Henry Williams, Gay life in New-York, or, Fast men and grass widows

[Frank Stein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fascinating social history of prostitution in New York City in the 19th century. It deals with all aspects of prostitution, from its geography (it was EVERYWHERE, but especially around Broadway), to its economy (madams were among the richest members of New York society and prostitution may have been the city's largest industry behind saloons), to those who were forever trying to end it (both working-class rioters angry at the prostitutes' "easy-living" and Comstockian moral reformers who used vigilante methods as well as the law to close brothels down).

The book also veers into areas like pornography (an early 1839 description of local brothels was called "Prostitution Exposed," and was written by "Butt Ender") to personal ads (which began appearing in the 1820s). And it traces the gradual evolution of prostitution throughout the century, from early streetwalkers and saloon girls, through the brothel phase (1830s-1870s), to the concert saloon era to the eventual rise of tenement house call-girls.

What is perhaps most interesting though is the ubiquity of prostitution throughout the era. Walt Whitman claimed that almost every young man in NYC visited a prostitute at some point, and that seems plausible when estimates put the number of prostitutes at something like 5 to 10% of the adult female population. And many of them could go through literally hundreds of men in a day.

What finally helped reduce prostitution's grasp on the city were earlier marriages, more open sexual mores among young unwed women, and the increasing stringency of the laws against open brothels and streetwalkers. Prostitution stuck around, but it was not such a universal or openly acknowledged thing.

[Milk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative.
Lists areas of interest where prostitutes gathered, their incomes, and the rise and decline of the profession. Explores the reasons for prostitution such as low wages for women. Plenty of information here for anyone with an interest in this topic.

[Kaufmak · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you met Tim Gilfoyle, I would venture a guess that your first thought wouldn't be, "I bet this guy wrote the definitive book on the commercialization and later regulation of sex." And yet, here we are. City of Eros was, and still is an important book for anyone interested in urban history especially, but if you are working on gender, cultural history and the nineteenth century, you'd best pick up a copy.

Gilfoyle takes us on an interesting and entertaining (not something I say about a lot of these old-comp books) through the history of prostitution in New York City. From this basic premise, we see how the city itself changed, the expansion of the middle class and the conflict of values that would ultimately result in the Victorian hegemony of the late nineteenth century. What I think is most effective about Gilfoyle's narrative is that it was more than just the cultural shift that change the attitude toward prostitution, but there were economic shifts as well that resulted in a decline in prostitution. Even so, while the "oldest profession" may have never been fully accepted at any time in American History, it did have a much more legitimate place in urban society before the turn of the century. This legitimacy allowed prostitution to thrive in the city within almost every neighborhood. It also allowed for a division of labor that was also reflected in the burgeoning industrial society. Like the new factories, the native born had better job placement, where as the recent immigrants were consigned to street walking. In both cases, however, the law generally protected the working women. Prostitutes were much more willing to ask for police aid than their twentieth century counterparts.

Which of course is the tip of the cultural iceberg. As the class division from the working class to the middle class become more stark, that great middle class fear of downward mobility begins to influence the thinking and reaction to prostitution. Protecting the innocent (read young women) becomes a larger and larger concern as the nineteenth century comes to a close. Add to this the greater moral concern about other behaviors (mostly of middle class men) and the stigmitization of prostitution becomes a very clear process.

[Delilah Marvelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I really loved about this book is the focus and resources it pulled to deliver a VERY insightful view of prostitution in historical New York City and how it dud into every facet of society that went beyond the morality of prostitution. Fascinating and worth reading if you truly want to look at the grittier side of history that is usually brushed aside.

[Grace]

Difficult and emotionally painful to read about.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the early 1800s, prostitution in New York wasn't a huge or obvious thing. Then it exploded — streetwalkers blatantly soliciting customers, brothels everywhere, the upper class making bank off it (if you owned an apartment building, you could count on prostitutes having the cash to pay rent), women finding a way to live independently with more money than any other professional option.
By the early 20th century all that changed, not so much because of anti-vice campaigns but because skyscrapers were more profitable than brothels and women had better career paths.
A very detailed look at New York's sex worker scene in the 19th century.

[Lauren Levitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comprehensive and informative. Easy to read, but very dense in terms of information. More of a conventional history in the sense that it charts the rise and fall of commercial sex in New York from 1790 to 1920, but doesn’t make much of an analytical argument. It also doesn’t try to distinguish itself from other histories, likely because this was the first of its kind about NYC. I recommend it in conjunction with other histories such as Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments.

[Kate Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit meandering, but the level of detail and depth of research make it a very solid read. Admittedly rather niche, but anyone interested in “the oldest profession” should definitely pick it up.

[Ash Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

a truly phenomenal sociocultural history of sex work in historical NYC

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enlightening introduction to prostitution in the United States during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Using New York as the extreme example of prostitution in the United States, Gilfoyle examines how prostitution contributed to and fed off of the growth of the largest city in the United States. Prostitution expanded from small enterprises at the periphery of society into an industry that took up significant amounts of real estate in New York and generated large profits for the madams and real estate owners, even though it was unofficially illegal at the time. Once it reached its prominence, prostitution had a wide range of influences on the social life of New York, creating a commercialized, sexualized popular culture in New York City. Gilfoyle occasionally ignores the social causes of prostitution in favor of economic causes and he trivializes the (at times) legitimate concerns of moral reformers. He also is guilty of understating the graft that perpetuated prostitution, focusing on how it affected the prostitution industry rather than the city in general. It is not a perfect book, but it is an engaging history of early America that will surprise most readers.

[Benson Hawk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gilfoyle's project admirably contributes to our understanding of some of the factors that shaped gender in the 19th century. His work tracing the commodification of sexuality in the early 19th century is very strong. His work also was the first to publish the existence of Flash Papers / Magazines (the Rake, etc.) which have contributed to our understanding of "sporting male" culture in the time period. There are ways, however, that this project could have more fully engaged with gender theory. He traces houses of "prostitution" without fully articulating a single definition of prostitution.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book...tracing the history of prostitution in New York city and it's links to changing patterns of commercialization, politics, business, etc. How Gilfoyle maps out the geography of prostitution in NYC is worth the price of admission.

[Jerrod · Rating 2 out of 5]

This history of prostitution was too dry and could have used more connecting narrative. Claims about cause and effect of commodification of the human body are oversold. Could have used more economic analysis.

[em sky-walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well researched analysis of prostitution in New York City and its overall place in society. This book sheds a lot of light on Victorian views of sex and sexuality as well. Definitely worth the read.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

prostitutes, real estate, new york in 19th century

[Lunaticraft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book. Very informative, and a well written history. The writing keeps things interesting while still being scholarly.

[David Freeland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A definitive history of the vice industry in New York City during the 19th century - truly a comprehensive and engaging chronicle.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great social history of prostitution. Unlike other history books, this one reads particularly well.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting study of gender, prostitution and underground economy in antebellum NYC; a bit dry in spots, but with enough quirky anecdotes sprinkled through the text to keep it engaging.

[Jennifer Kincheloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good background material on bad girls.

[Bradley Farless · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. Very well written. Learned a lot about the city I live in.

[Kate McMurray]

I was researching prostitution in Victorian New York for a novel I'm writing, and this gives a pretty broad view of how the trade developed as the city did.

[Ollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive, great for research.