Jewish Prostitutes In The East End

[Howard Brown]

I noticed this in the London Times.... brief mention within a larger article on the sweating system.

The Times
July 13, 1888
**********

[Dusty Miller]

I've come across a few references to Jewish prostitutes being based in a specific area, but can't seem to find any real details. Anyone know?

[Dave James]

Hi Dusty,

This might help.

http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=3548

[Rob House]

For the record, I never got very far with this... It would be helpful to get some actual Police reports, or trial records of Jewish brothels. All I ever got were various second-hand accounts, or mentions of it happening.

Rob H

[AP Wolf]

This highly complicated case from the OB certainly shows that Jewish brothels and Jewish 'unfortunates' were there.
http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/brows...tute#highlight

[AP Wolf]

It does appear as if the Jews are the men who will not be blamed for nothing, or something like that. Excuse me I washed the chalk writing down with an old apron that I found in Goulston Street.
http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/brows...tute#highlight

[Howard Brown]

Rob:
According to the Pall Mall Gazette (I believe the article is in our PMG section....) Jews were prominent in White Slavery during the period, particularly Europe.
The story in that issue touched on a local London-based Jew who was involved in that way of life.

[NorthEast Detective]

This is very interesting. I always wondered if the immigrant Jews of the East End were known to be frequent clients of the prostitutes in the area or, if they chose to mingle with Jewish prostitutes since they tended not to trust the Gentile community at the time.

[Howard Brown]

NED

Money talks and bullshit walks, like South Philly politician Ozzie Meyers used to say.
A shekel is a shekel and we know White prostitutes had blacks and Malays as customers, just as Jewish prosses had non Jewish ( Gentile ) customers.

[NorthEast Detective]

Howard,

Is it possible that Liz Stride was Jewish?

Her maiden name was Gustafsdotter (which could or could ot be Jewish) and I know she could speak Yiddish pretty well.

However, I know Sweden does not have a large Jewish population, especially in the rural area where we know Liz was from.

[Howard Brown]

NED:

There doesn't seem to be any documentation that suggests she could have been.

[Rob House]

This brings my mind back to "Tiger Bay" which was apparently Brunswick Street and the streets immediately surrounding, which would include Providence Street. This street was said to be notorious as a hang out of thieves and prostitutes, brothels etc. And Kozminski quite possibly lived right in the midst of it all during the time of the Ripper murders. So I am not sure if the area still was the same in 1888, but if so, it is very interesting for Kozminski as a suspect in the Ripper murders.

I do believe that one witness actually referred to Brunswick Street as "Tiger bay " during the Stride Inquest:

Witness Edward Spooner:
"As I was going to Berner-street I did not meet any one except Mr. Harris, who came out of his house in Tiger Bay (Brunswick-street)."

Stride Inquest, Times (London) - Wednesday, 3 October 1888

So if this was still the notorious Tiger Bay of lore, then it quite possibly was an area of brothels.

I have no real proof of this. Specifically, I think the area WAS a notorious district in around the 1860s-1870s... whether it was the same in 1888, I do not know.

Help?

RH

[Rob House]

Does anyone happen to know exactly where "Brunswick Gardens" was?

See: http://www.victorianlondon.org/publications7/odd-12.htm

Also, what is the meaning of the term "Jack" in this context? Does it mean "the client of a prostitute"?

Rob H

[Sam Flynn]

Does anyone happen to know exactly where "Brunswick Gardens" was?

"Brunswick Gardens is a goodish bit further up [from Brunswick Street]..."

http://www.mernick.org.uk/thhol/tigerbay.html

Also, what is the meaning of the term "Jack" in this context? Does it mean "the client of a prostitute"?

Judging by the other references to "Jack" in the article, Rob, it seems to refer to sailors. Albeit, perhaps, in an oblique reference to sailors as users of prostitutes.

BTW, the references to "rhino" in the article are in the sense of a slang word for "money" (ref. Oxford English Dictionary). You learn something new here every day!

[Rob House]

Judging by the other references to "Jack" in the article, Rob, it seems to refer to sailors. Albeit, perhaps, in an oblique reference to sailors as users of prostitutes.

What about this sentence from the article:

"The proverb that "all work and no play," &c., applies no less to a sailor than to every other Jack; but one would desire to see him a little less recklessly impulsive in the pursuit of pastime that is to his peculiar taste, end a great deal less foolish as regards the extravagant price in money and in health he pays in attaining it. "

Rob H