The Character of a Town Miss
de [Sex Work] Anonymous
- Usado
- First
- Estado
- Ver descripción
- Librería
-
Pasadena, California, United States
Formas de pago aceptadas
Sobre este artículo
London: [printed for Charles Hindley], 1873. First thus. Original quarter cloth over printed card. Measuring 213 x 143mm and complete in 8 pages. A Near Fine example, with a touch of soiling and offsetting to card wraps; rear endpaper torn with minor loss, with remnant adhering to excess publisher's glue on the rear pastedown. Antiquarian Charles Hindley's first separate facsimile publication of the pamphlet originally published in 1680 by Rowland Reynolds, this being one of six copies on this yellow paper. First separate issue from his 1871-1873 set in 3 volumes titled Miscellanea Antiqua Anglicana: The Old Book Collector's Miscellany which drew together sixteenth and seventeenth century works in history, literature, and biography. Scarce across the board, OCLC reports 15 copies of the 1680 first edition and 5 copies of the present reprint; no copies of either appear in the modern auction record or in trade.
A late seventeenth century satire on the rising fame and wealth of courtesans in London, The Character of a Town Miss opens with a hard distinction among the classes of sex workers. "Miss is a Name, which the civility of this age bestows on one that our unmannerly ancestors call'd Whore or Strumpet," the pamphlet begins. With humor, it acknowledges that the best of this class, however, perform a social service that keeps the world in balance. "A certain Help-Meet for a Gentleman, instead of a Wife; serving either for the prevention of the Sin of Marrying, or else...to render the Yoke of Matrimony more easy." In a system that required men and women to marry for economic purposes rather than affection, engaging with sex workers allowed men to select paid companions who not only fulfilled sexual desires but also conversational and intellectual ones. Thus, women of this rank deserved a different title, "an honest Courtezan...and differs from your ordinary Prostitute...one perhaps has an hundred Customers, t'other but Two or Three...indeed may well she thrive." In what follows, the anonymous author describes such a woman's habits -- from the places she frequents, to her mode of travel, to her companions, clothing, and methods of flirtation. Fluctuating from critical to appreciative and back, the satire acknowledges the foolishness of a world that requires and sustains such a profession; but it also recognizes the limited choices of these women, and the short-lived careers they might face.
A late seventeenth century satire on the rising fame and wealth of courtesans in London, The Character of a Town Miss opens with a hard distinction among the classes of sex workers. "Miss is a Name, which the civility of this age bestows on one that our unmannerly ancestors call'd Whore or Strumpet," the pamphlet begins. With humor, it acknowledges that the best of this class, however, perform a social service that keeps the world in balance. "A certain Help-Meet for a Gentleman, instead of a Wife; serving either for the prevention of the Sin of Marrying, or else...to render the Yoke of Matrimony more easy." In a system that required men and women to marry for economic purposes rather than affection, engaging with sex workers allowed men to select paid companions who not only fulfilled sexual desires but also conversational and intellectual ones. Thus, women of this rank deserved a different title, "an honest Courtezan...and differs from your ordinary Prostitute...one perhaps has an hundred Customers, t'other but Two or Three...indeed may well she thrive." In what follows, the anonymous author describes such a woman's habits -- from the places she frequents, to her mode of travel, to her companions, clothing, and methods of flirtation. Fluctuating from critical to appreciative and back, the satire acknowledges the foolishness of a world that requires and sustains such a profession; but it also recognizes the limited choices of these women, and the short-lived careers they might face.
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Detalles
- Librería
- Whitmore Rare Books (US)
- Inventario del vendedor #
- 6127
- Título
- The Character of a Town Miss
- Autor
- [Sex Work] Anonymous
- Estado del libro
- Usado
- Cantidad disponible
- 1
- Edición
- First thus
- Editorial
- [printed for Charles Hindley]
- Lugar de publicación
- London
- Fecha de publicación
- 1873
- Palabras clave
- Miss is a Name, which the civility of this age bestows on one that our unmannerly ancestors call'd Whore or Strumpet.
- Atención
- Puede que se trate de un conjunto de varios volúmenes y requiera de gastos de envío adicionales.
Términos de venta
Whitmore Rare Books
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Sobre el vendedor
Whitmore Rare Books
Miembro de Biblio desde 2009
Pasadena, California
Sobre Whitmore Rare Books
We operate a retail shop in "Old Town" Pasadena open normal business hours Tuesday through Saturday.
Glosario
Algunos términos que podrían usarse en esta descripción incluyen:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Facsimile
- An exact copy of an original work. In books, it refers to a copy or reproduction, as accurate as possible, of an original...