Blue Book

The Blue Book is a reproduction of the most famous guidebook to New Orleans’s "vice district." Published from 1909 to 1915 by former police reporter Billy Struve, the Blue Book promised to  “put the stranger on a proper and safe path.” It also includes a list of the names of women entertainers who were employed in the dance halls and cabarets in the Storyville district—closed down by the government in 1917—“the only district of its kind set aside for the fast women by law.” Applewood After Dark’s faithful facsimile, reproduced from an original copy owned by Judith Lafitte of Octavia Books. Hardcover.