Photographs selected by Carlos Detres

In the early 20th Century, E.J. Bellocq photographed haunting images of the women who worked the brothels of the infamous Storyville district of New Orleans. His influence is seen today, including in the photgraphy of Joel Peter Witkin.

Some of the pictures were intentionally defaced for reasons that remain unknown and by an assailant who may have been the photographer himself.

Tragically, Storyville was closed by the US Navy in 1917. If anyone wants to get me an original copy of a Blue Book from the era as a birthday present, you will be rewarded with love.