Thread by @emos_que

EVERY HISTORICAL REFERENCE (that I could find) IN INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, a very long thread

#iwtv #InterviewWithTheVampire

research takes time so have patience, I promise I'll finish this someday

READ the ALT texts because I'll put additional information there. It's IMPOSSIBLE to work with 280 characters

if I make any grammar mistakes: don't be a bitch. I have no respect for this language.

lets go

In 1897, a district was established where prostitution was legal in an attempt to monitor and keep it out of the city of New Orleans.

Named Storyville because of its first alderman, Sidney Story, the district became known as the birthplace of jazz.

Cornered by North Robertson, Iberville, Basin and St Louis streets, Storyville could be found above the French Quarter- historical district founded by the French- in the city's map

It took some time for the place to gain attention, but it started growing from the year 1900.

With USAs ingress in WWI in 1917, the government outlawed the presence of any brothel less than five miles near military stations

Although there were no bases nearby, the common circulation of Navy sailors on the ports caused the Secretary of War to require Storyville's closure

In its 20 years of existence, the district became so popular that an identification device became necessary to navigate the place

The so called "Blue Books" were guides to the zone's sex services, it listed prostitutes and the streets of the establishments they could be found

In this scene, Lestat is reading what seems to be the 1912's Blue Book, judging by the color. However, you can see the emblem in the center resembles much more the 1903's one, though it differentiates in color.

Thomas Charles Anderson (or just Tom Anderson) was a big property owner that became known as "unofficial mayor" of Storyville because of his various connections in the political scene and inside New Orleans' Police Department.

In 1897, Anderson opened a restaurant in the corner of Basin and Iberville (previously Customhouse) streets, that he called The Fair Play Saloon.

Soon after, the name would be changed to "Arlington Annex", marking the beginning of his partnership with madame Josie Arlington.

Since there's no evidence of a "Ms Carroll" in Storyville's known records (i searched and found absolutely nothing on her. nada. zero), I'm assuming her character is representing Josie Arlington.

Her brothel, the Arlington, used to be located at 172 Customhouse, but it was moved to a mansion in 225 Basin at the start of Storyville.

In 1905, there was a fire, and she had her business temporarily harbored by Anderson in his own establishment that, from there on, +

began getting called “Arlington Annex”, because of the madame’s presence.

The Arlington was one of the most famous saloons in Storyville, and I believe the show’s Fair Play is actually referencing this establishment, not Anderson’s, as in real life.

One more evidence that the show is mimicking Josie’s Arlington and not Anderson’s Annex is the presence of said “Orient Room”, a potential reference to the Japanese Parlor on 225 North Basin Street.

In 1909, Josie Arlington officially retired and sold most of her properties to Anderson, including the Arlington mansion.

Since the show begins in 1910, maybe Tom Anderson being the owner is a hint to this fact. It still doesn’t justify Carroll’s presence there.

It’s up to you to decide if the show’s Fairplay is an adaptation of Anderson’s Arlington Annex or of Josie’s Arlington mansion.

It is presumed that Tom and Josie had had a relationship of romantic nature, but nothing was ever confirmed.

About Lilli’s character, it’s possible that her name was inspired by a Lillian Connor, that worked at Josie’s Arlington around the 1900s

Her name appears in an ad for the Arlington mansion in the 1903’s Blue Book.

Jelly Roll Morton’s band, who played in the show’s Fairplay, actually played a lot there in real life.

They were so attentive to the details they even added the same illustration to William Laws’ bass drum 🥹

Le Bon Marché was one of the first modern department stores in France. Established in 1838, its economic system suffered a renovation when Aristide Boucicaut became a patron in 1852.

1852. They’re in 1910. And Lestat’s talking about Boucicaut as if they were close friends.

here, there’s a reference to one of the works of illustrator J.C. Leyendecker: smoking jacket

Turkish Tobacco became popular in England around the 1850s. Men at the time would wear robes, called “smoking jackets” (inspired by the robe de chambre” from the 17th century, +

when they departed from social meetings to smoke turkish tobacco, usually in smoking pipes. Apart from keeping the ashes from staining the clothes underneath, it also withheld the bad smell when the man returned to his partner.

This way, their tailcoats remained intact.

Joseph Christian Leyendecker (or simply J.C. Leyendecker) was one of the most renowned American illustrators of the 20th century

The artist inspired by the Art-Noveau movement was responsible for creating the image of one of the biggest masculine sex symbol models from the 1900s

17-year-old Charles Beach once entered a studio belonging to 24-year-old Leyendecker, looking for a job. The artist immediately felt delighted by the boy’s beauty, and Beach was one of the models of what would become Leyendecker’s most acclaimed character, the “Arrow Collar Man”

Leyendecker’s inexhaustible desire to depict Beach, as if he eternally tried to catch his lover’s beauty in his illustrations, made the “Arrow Collar Man” the biggest masculine fashion icon of the first decades of the 20th century.

Every man wanted to be like him.

So much so it's believed it’s the Arrow Collar Man who Daisy talks about in her line to Gatsby in The Great Gatsby’s 7th chapter “You resemble the advertisement of the man”

Leyendecker and Beach remained lovers for the rest of their lives (L died in 51, B just three years later)