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

Prostitution in New York City flourished throughout the 19th century, offering high profits to landlords and fueled by immigration, low female wages, political corruption, and the sexual mores of the age. Gilfoyle's study, based on his 1987 Ph.D. dissertation, analyzes New York prostitution's growth and ultimate decline, its operation, its opposition, and (perhaps rather too minutely) its geographical distribution. He points to the political system that supported red light districts and to the overlap of commercialized sex with socially respectable entertainment.