UK Punting - 1787 version

[backofthenet]

this is absolutely fantastic - "Harris's list of Covent-Garden ladies: or, man of pleasure's kalender, for the year, 1787. Containing the histories and some curious anecdotes of the most celebrated ladies now on the town, or in keeping, and also of many of their keepers."

With a foreward by Jimmyredcab.

External Link/Members Only

Random extract from a review of Mrs Wright, of 37 Union Street on p46 "She is tall and genteel, about twenty eight years old, fair complexion, and her face very agreeable, her teeth are good, her hair reddish, and her temper easy, free and complying. She is thoroughly qualified to give pleasure, and is no niggard of her endeavours. Her touch is delicate, and contains thrilling sensations, and she is superiorly eminent for moving a repetition of joy through a thousand love provoking actions. Her price is one guinea, but she is far from being mercenary."

Sounds a bit like a west8 review doesn't it. Wonder if she did CIM for an extra shilling?
 

[sushi]

this is absolutely fantastic - "Harris's list of Covent-Garden ladies: or, man of pleasure's kalender, for the year, 1787. Containing the histories and some curious anecdotes of the most celebrated ladies now on the town, or in keeping, and also of many of their keepers."

With a foreward by Jimmyredcab.

External Link/Members Only

Random extract from a review of Mrs Wright, of 37 Union Street on p46 "She is tall and genteel, about twenty eight years old, fair complexion, and her face very agreeable, her teeth are good, her hair reddish, and her temper easy, free and complying. She is thoroughly qualified to give pleasure, and is no niggard of her endeavours. Her touch is delicate, and contains thrilling sensations, and she is superiorly eminent for moving a repetition of joy through a thousand love provoking actions. Her price is one guinea, but she is far from being mercenary."

Sounds a bit like a west8 review doesn't it. Wonder if she did CIM for an extra shilling?
 

One pound in 1787 is worth about £1300 today. One shilling in 1787 is worth about £63.00 today.

[backofthenet]

There's a squirter on p 127 - Miss Mckenzie of St. James' St!

[shagbambi]

Very little has changed...

A very interesting link, thank you.

[fredpunter]

One pound in 1787 is worth about £1300 today. One shilling in 1787 is worth about £63.00 today.

Pre-EE competition

[superchamp]

Of course, with many poor women of the time turning to prostitution there's a possibility that any current native Londoner with ancestry back to that time would be likely to find an ancestor listed somewhere in that document. I doubt if there's many of us that don't have a whore somewhere in their bloodline.

[backofthenet]

any current native Londoner with ancestry back to that time would be likely to find.....a whore somewhere in their bloodline.

Over to you, Cockney Bastard!

[jimbobwood]

Of course, with many poor women of the time turning to prostitution there's a possibility that any current native Londoner with ancestry back to that time would be likely to find an ancestor listed somewhere in that document. I doubt if there's many of us that don't have a whore somewhere in their bloodline.

My great nan was a prossie before the second world war. I think they had about 10 kids back then and the great grandad was a rag and bone man. They were poor as fuck!

[nigel4498]

A nice piece of social history, looks like a good bedtime read
 Shall keep me entertained for hours.
Thanks for that backofthenet, most interesting. 

[helmsdale]

Over to you, Cockney Bastard!

I love the humour on this forum

[Dave2014]

This is marvellous.

Still, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the girls reviewed in 1787 are still the same girls advertising themselves on AW today as in their '30s'.

[Dave2014]

An extract from page 52, Miss Charlotte Collins, Oxford Buildings, Oxford Street:

"She was bred a dairy maid in Staffordshire, but an ensign in a marching regiment took her from milking the cow, and taught her to stroke the bull . . ."

Fantastic stuff. It is good to know that in 228 years, the great tradition of punters writing euphemistic innuendo remains unchanged.

[superchamp]

No doubt when Harris visited his gentleman's club of choice his friends all laughed and said "oh here comes that fluffy cunt Harris, what a complete cad and bounder he is" and "It's been said that Harris sometimes says thank you to his whores. about time we expelled him, what".

[LanceVance]

I'm tempted to assume that none of the whores back then had a 'No Blacks or Asians' rule either.

[iPad3]

Is there a reference to a certain Mr Hackney carriage moaning about shit service given by the "fucking gypo's"

Or maybe not (in a million years)

[backofthenet]

"Sirrah I am ASTONISHED that these maidens of ROMANY do not portray their heavenly visages in their ADVERTISEMENTS. I should ne'er spend a farthing in their company lest their beauty be PROVEN to my satisfaction". 

Yours,
James of the Red Hackney Carriage, Stepney

[LL]

Page 26

Mrs N--wl--nd, No. 32, Goodge Street

The wanton, mighty Jove in all his glory,
With all the art of elegance divine
Found the nymph coy and blind to all his charms.
'Till changed at last into a golden flower.
The precious drops dissolved her into love.
How applicable these lines to Mrs N-----, to whom, not Jove himself would be acceptable without gold, and limping vulcan would be tenderly embraced if plentifully stored with it, she then can melt into transports, and make the present lover believe he is the only one, for whom she has a real regard.
In part, she says true; she has a real regard for him; which will continue as long as his purse or his liberality lasts or until she meets with a dupe, more rich or liberal.
Her age is about twenty, her eyes grey and lively, her complexion swarthy, her teeth and beauty middling, her temper agreeable - when she pleases.  There is no ascertaining her price, it being always as much as she can get; and her commodity, like those fold by inch of candle, is always knocked down to the highest bidder.  She has not been in life more than two years and the name she now goes by is that of her favourite man.

When I first read this my immediate thoughts were - here you go West8 - here's your next review.  Just copy and paste it in!

However, I'm fascinated by it.  First of all the reviewer is a fluffy - there's no doubt about that - not wanting to go into any actual details of what took place - just the girl, her attitude, appearance and price.  Also he presents the girl as a money grabber who's in it for as much as she can get, not only that but apparently she makes each client believe that he is the one!  This all sounds creepily familiar.  Like the best prossies of today are exactly the same as the trailblazers of 200+ years ago.

I also like the reference to inch of candle and I'm wondering if a prossie of yesteryear would charge by inch of a burning candle and then she would be candlewatching, waiting for it to burn down to an agreed marking to indicate the end of a paid session, as opposed to the clockwatching that many of them do today.

Anyway many thanks to the OP for finding this, I am genuinely interested in it especially as most of the addresses given in the book still exist today, not as brothels of course but shops, offices and expensive homes.  The people using such premises are most likely unaware of their history.

[hockogrockle]

Classy book. Just look at the binding! Must have cost a small fortune. I wonder how you hid your leather bound "punting dictionary" away from the wife? Although it's called "Covent Garden Ladies", a high percentage of addresses are nowhere near Covent Garden. So was "Covent Garden Lady" a euphemism for prostitute? I think these must have been up-market women, as the locations are mostly pretty smart these days, and were probably samrt then too. I think you could have a cheap whore up a back alley for virtually nothing in the eighteenth century. Apart from a dose of the clap, of course.

[LL]

Classy book. Just look at the binding! Must have cost a small fortune. I wonder how you hid your leather bound "punting dictionary" away from the wife? Although it's called "Covent Garden Ladies", a high percentage of addresses are nowhere near Covent Garden. So was "Covent Garden Lady" a euphemism for prostitute? I think these must have been up-market women, as the locations are mostly pretty smart these days, and were probably samrt then too. I think you could have a cheap whore up a back alley for virtually nothing in the eighteenth century. Apart from a dose of the clap, of course.

I don't think so.  I found some more info about it.  It was printed annually and covered prossies in and around Covent Garden.  It was printed and published in Covent Garden too.
External Link/Members Only

[44Remington]

Classy book. Just look at the binding! Must have cost a small fortune. I wonder how you hid your leather bound "punting dictionary" away from the wife? Although it's called "Covent Garden Ladies", a high percentage of addresses are nowhere near Covent Garden. So was "Covent Garden Lady" a euphemism for prostitute? I think these must have been up-market women, as the locations are mostly pretty smart these days, and were probably samrt then too. I think you could have a cheap whore up a back alley for virtually nothing in the eighteenth century. Apart from a dose of the clap, of course.

Historically speaking Covent Garden and the surrounding area was one of the most substantial red light districts in Europe. And it generally wasn't that upmarket, the women working in the area normally weren't the usual desperate syphilis ridden individuals working in the gutter. But they weren't high class.
Additionally during the early modern period it wasn't seen as particuarly taboo when "well to do" young men made use of these services, as it created a safeguard against the possibility of them engaging in pre-marital sex with their female social equals who were expected to be more "pure" and innocent.

This of course all changed as a result of the evangelical movements during the mid 19th century who campaigned against various "ills" of society (drink, gambling, prostitution), the contagious diseases act 1864 and the growing popularity of the prostitute as a tragic character in the arts and literature.