4. Guidebooks for brothels were published in Great Britain in the 18th century
In the mid-eighteenth century in London and other British cities guidebooks directing the reader to brothels and individual prostitutes were available for purchase. They included in most cases physical attributes of the women, the services provided, and ratings. One such guide, Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies, was published in an annual edition from 1757 through 1795. The guides were often explicit in their descriptions of the ladies and included among the descriptions of the ladies the identities of some of their satisfied customers. Among them at varying times were the Duke of York (brother of George III), James Boswell, and King George IV.