The Blue Book was the directory and guide to the "tenderloin district" of Storyville, featuring ads to show the locals and out-of-towners the best places to gamble, what types of liquor to drink, and where to spend their time and money. Blue Book was a way to communicate with the public about the locations of each brothel, crib, and cabaret where the men could meet some fast women and buy a bit of time with them.

​At the turn of the century in New Orleans, many women, faced with limited economic opportunities and societal constraints, turned to the skin trade as a means of survival. With few respectable job options available, some women found work in Storyville, the city’s legalized red-light district. Here, they navigated the challenges of earning a living in an industry fraught with exploitation and stigma, using their resourcefulness and resilience to support themselves and, often, their families.

As an advertising mechanism, Blue Book of Storyville offered a platform for merchants to promote their products and for madams to generate business opportunities for their working girls by listing a page describing their bawdy house. The advertisements printed in Blue Book, especially some of the liquor and cigar ads, feature products that we still use in today's modern market.