The Blue Book: A Directory of Sin

The Blue Book: A Directory of Sin

The Blue Book of Storyville, New Orleans, was a notorious guide to the city’s legal red-light district during the early 20th century. This directory listed the names, addresses, and descriptions of the brothels and the women who worked in them, catering to visitors seeking entertainment. Often embellished with advertisements for bars and saloons, the Blue Book serves as a revealing artifact of a unique cultural chapter in New Orleans history, blending vice, glamour, and the thriving underworld of Storyville before its closure in 1917.

As the neighborhood directory featuring madams and freelancers, Blue Book was essentially a catalog that described the houses of ill repute and their specialties, alongside ads from major brands we recognize today.

In many ways, this book served as a subtle yet significant form of empowerment for women, allowing brothel madams to market their businesses in an environment where they were already being commodified. Some madams even reserved entire pages to advertise services.

Aimed at a white male audience, the Storyville-era guides included advertisements for liquor, beer, cigars, restaurants, and treatments for venereal diseases. By today’s standards, the tone of these guides is quite reserved. None of the Blue Books explicitly describe the women, the sexual services available, or the fees for such services. Some, however, feature photographs of brothel interiors and images of people and establishments. Long after Storyville’s closure, numerous replicas and imitations were published, capitalizing on the district’s infamous reputation.