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Whores of Yore Profile picture
Whores of Yore
@WhoresofYore
Sex History. "A Catalogue of Jilts, Cracks, Nightwalkers, Whores, She-Friends, Kind Women & Others of the Linen-Lifting Tribe”
23 subscribers
Apr 25, 2024 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
Today is #WorldPenguinDay , so here is a story about the “astonishing depravity" and "hooligan males" of the Adélie penguins recorded in Cape Adare in 1911. The book cover of “Antarctic Penguins” by Dr G Murray Levick, RN. The book has a Lon army green cover with the title in white text and Levick’s name in black. In the centre of the cover are two Adelie penguins facing each other, with their bellies touching, as if in an embrace. It’s quite a wholesome image with no hint of the horrendous penguin depravity that is to come. This is George Murray Levick, a scientist with the 1910-13 Scott Antarctic Expedition. He arrived at Cape Adare in 1911 & observed the penguins for a year. He was the first scientist ever to observe the breeding cycle of the penguins. A black and white photo of George Levick on Antarctic expedition. He’s on a boat (I think), sitting up against a wooden wall. He looks to be mending a leather boot, he’d smoking a pipe and isn’t looking at the camera. He’s wearing a white woolly hat, a pale coloured wooly jumper and sturdy trousers. He’s a rugged, outdoorsy type and powerfully built, He looks very much like someone who should be singing sea shanties in a Cornish pub for a pint and ale and a pickled egg.
Mar 3, 2024 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
I can’t believe I’ve been woken up the for this, but here we go.

1. The historian Strabo (64BCE - 24 ACE) described operations on the clitoris

2. Galen (129-126 ACE) called the clitoris “the nymph” in his “on the usefulness of the parts of the body.”

3. Soranus of Ephesus (1st century ACE) also calls it a “nymph” and describes it as “hidden underneath the labia such as young brides hide under their veil.” 4. Other ancient writers who describe the clitoris include, Caelius Aurelianus, Iianus, Albucasis, and Avicenna. They would call it a “nymph,” a “myrtleberry,” or “tongue bag.” The romans called it “landica.”
Sep 18, 2023 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
Wewe Gombel is a female ghost in Javanese folklore. It is said that she kidnaps children and hides them under her breasts.

Thread Giovanni Battista de' Cavalieri 1585 depiction of "Monsters from all parts of the ancient and modern world", roughly corresponding to a depiction of Wewe Gombel, a spirit of the Indonesian folklore. This is a black and white print of Wewe Gombel. She is a naked woman, with cloven hoofs, who is wearing her boobs like a feather boa. Both breasts droop to the floor and she has wrapped them around her upper arms, like a fox stole. She has long, clawed nails, and wiry hair that is standing on end. She is outside somewhere. Considering what she’s gone through, she looks quite serene. Wewe Gombel, or “Hantu Kopek" as she’s known in Malaysia, has a complicated legend. It is said that in life, she married the man of her dreams, but they never had children because she was infertile.
Jul 22, 2023 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
July 22nd is the Feast Day of Mary Magdalene in the Christian faith. Much has been made of who Mary was, but she almost certainly wasn’t a sex worker. That story came about in 591, when Pope Gregory I got his Marys muddled.

Thread Saint Mary Magdalene by Guido Reni. An oil painting dating to 1620 of Mary Magdalene. Saint Mary Magdalene is here depicted with eyes raised heavenward, a sign of her devotion and penance. She has pale skin and long blonde, curly hair. She must have her curly girl method down, because those curls are amazing. She has on a red cloak that she clutches at her chest. The background is nondescript and dark. She has that pained, eyes to heaven look so many saints are fond of. Mary Magdalene, (who debuts in Luke 8:2) was mixed up with with Mary of Bethany (Luke 10:39), and the anonymous "sinful woman" who washed Jesus's feet in Luke 7:36–50.
Mar 31, 2023 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
Mary Carleton (1642-73) was the most infamous thief & harlot of Port Royal, Jamaica. She was said to be “A stout frigate … or else she never could have endured so many batteries & assaults … she was as common as a barber’s chair: no sooner was one out, but another was in.”
🧵 A black and white woodcut print of Mary Carleton. Below her Mary was born Mary Moders in Canterbury, England - possibly to a fiddler. There is not much that is certain about her life because she was an exceptional bullshit artist. Most of what we know about her was written in jail reports that were designed to shock, or from Mary herself.
Jan 26, 2023 • 21 tweets • 5 min read
This is the legendary burlesque artist & 'vaginiste', Honeysuckle Devine. She was once described as a 'one woman slum', & had one of the most extraordinary acts in the history of burlesque.

Thread A black and white photograph of a young white woman, in a lo Honeysuckle was born Betty Allsup in Rock Island, Illinois in 1938. She was one of 14 children & described her father as a 'hillbilly, banjo-playing lumberjack.'
Jan 19, 2023 • 18 tweets • 3 min read
Today, my all time hero Janis Joplin (1943-70) would have been 80 years old. Here is a thread of Janis quotes to remind you what a goddamn legend she was. Black and white photograph of Janis Joplin aged around 26. S “I'm one of those regular weird people.”
Jan 18, 2023 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
This is Cardinal Jean Daniélou (1905-74). He was a French theologian, historian & author of many books on Catholicism & spirituality. He also died of a heart attack in the Parisian home of Sex worker, Mimi Santoni, with a lot of money in his pocket.

Mini thread Black and white photo of Jean-Daniélou on full Cardinal get Cardinal Daniélou was made a Cardinal in 1969 & was a really respected theologian & scholar. To say his death caused some embarrassment to the church is something of an understatement.
Dec 18, 2022 • 18 tweets • 4 min read
I don’t know about you, but where I am is cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey… or is it??

A thread.🥶 🏀 🙊 A vintage comedy postcard showing a brass monkey and a porce You may be familiar with the properties origins of the phrase “cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.” It is said that onboard war ships of yore, cannon balls were piled in a pyramid shape next to the cannons on deck. Black and white sketch of a cannon on board an old timey shi
Nov 28, 2022 • 20 tweets • 8 min read
The Progress of a Woman of Pleasure, by Richard Newton (1796), shows the trials & tribulations of a woman selling sex in London. Newton died at 21 in 1798, two years after making this illustration.

Thread 18th-century etching showing 18 women is various states. You “Your first step for preferment will be to a great lady in King's Place”. King’s Place was a famous, upmarket brothel run by Charlotte Hayes in Pall Mall. Any woman on the make would go here because Hayes had the wealthiest clients. The first image of our girl. She is well dressed and has her
Nov 14, 2022 • 18 tweets • 5 min read
Maggie May, by Rod Stewart & Martin Quittenton, was released in 1971 & is an absolute banger. Rolling Stone ranked it at 130 in their list of the '500 Greatest Songs of All Time’. But just who was Maggie May?

Thread The song tells of Stewart’s experience of losing his virginity to an older woman at the 1961 Beaulieu Jazz Festival, but her real name wasn’t Maggie May. Stewart later said he took that name from "an old Liverpudlian song about a prostitute."
Oct 21, 2022 • 20 tweets • 5 min read
In 1922, neighbours heard screams coming from a house in the affluent LA area of Layfette Park. When the police arrived, they found Fred Oesterreich dead & his wife Dolly locked inside in a closet. They were certain Dolly had done it, but they had no idea how.

Thread A black and white photograp... Dolly & Fred were both German immigrants. Fred had done well & owned a successful textiles company in Milwaukee. D&F married young (17 & 20), but, alas, it was not a happy marriage. At least not for Dolly, who had numerous affairs & was not too subtle about it either.
Sep 3, 2022 • 15 tweets • 4 min read
Ok! I have been tagged in this post a few times with the question, “what the actual hell is going on here?” I shall do my best to answer.

Thread This image of the cat is only part of a much larger image, seen here. It’s part of the Rijksmuseum collect & dates to 1555. We don’t know who did this but there are theories as to why they did it. You can read the museum entry for it here rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/R… A sepia toned engraving of a nun chasing a fuck ugly cat, wi
Aug 13, 2022 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
Before antibiotics were STIs were treated by flushing out the bladder & genitals with antiseptics. This is how men were treated for VD during WW1. Below are some VERY graphic images from “Gonorrhea in the male - a practical guide to its treatment” by AL Wolbarst, (1911) A screen shot from Gonorrhea in the male - a practical guide VD was a huge problem to all sides fighting in WW1. This treatment would need to be carried out every day for a couple of weeks. This meant the patient was unable to fight. Aside from flu & battle casualties, VD was the biggest cause of lost man power A sepia image from the book, showing a VERY large injection
Aug 10, 2022 • 18 tweets • 3 min read
Ok. Ask and you shall receive. You wanted to know more about Julie d'Aubigny (1670/73–1707). Well, here you go.

Thread. Before we begin, we must acknowledge that teasing out fact from fiction is really tricky. A primary source, for example, is Dictionnaire des théâtres de Paris written 60ys after she died. It makes a lot of claims, but they can’t be found anywhere else.
Jul 29, 2022 • 14 tweets • 5 min read
Remember this one? "Lily the Pink" (1968) by the UK comedy group The Scaffold. This song went to n.1 in the charts & stayed there for 4 weeks. It tells the story of Lily the Pink & her amazing ‘medicinal compound’ that cures all your ills. But just who was Lily the Pink? Thread An LP sleeve for the single Lily the Pink. It is sepia in to Lily the Pink is based on the American businesswoman Lydia Pinkham (1819-83) who did indeed invent a medicinal, or vegetable, compound in 1875. Pinkham’s compound was sold as a ‘woman’s tonic’ & was marketed as a cure for menstrual & menopausal symptoms. An image of Lydia Pinkham that was used to sell her products
Jul 15, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
This is true & there is proper research to back this up. Fatty acids secreted by the vagina are called copulins & have been found to increase testosterone in men who smelled them. It also made men rate women as more attractive. Read the paper here.
👇
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14… x.com/HammerToe/stat… And that’s not the only paper to show this. Personally, I prefer Jo Malone but wearing a dab of your Charlie has been shown to attract men. Science says so.
Jul 12, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
I saw this @channel5_tv doc on the victims of Jack the Ripper, called 5 Victims, & assumed it must be hosted by / based on / attributed to @HallieRubenhold who wrote THE FIVE about the victims of JtR. Only it’s not. But this is Hallie’s work. So why the hell isn’t she credited? Photo of a TV guide schedul... This is Hallie’s book! It’s her intellectual property. It’s even pretty close to the title of her work! So why isn’t she credited??
Jun 30, 2022 • 19 tweets • 5 min read
Following the Battle of Shiloh of 1862, during the American Civil War, soldiers & medics reported that the men’s wounds glowed in the dark. This is how the mystery of the Angel’s Glow was finally solved.

Thread A coloured photograph of Photorhabdus luminescens. They look One of the bloodiest battles in the American civil war was the Battle of Shiloh in 1862, which took place in southwestern Tennessee. It was a truly gruesome battle, with both sides sustaining heavy losses. It left some 23,000 dead or horribly wounded. A black and white photograph showing civil war soldiers conv
Jun 27, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Pennyroyal has been used as an abortifacient since the ancient world. It also has been used in love potions, & as a symbol of illicit sexuality. Pennyroyal pills like these were sold in the 19th century to cure “menstrual blockages”, a coded phrase for inducing miscarriage A thin, oblong, red, metal tin, with gold writing that reads I hate that I now have to put this warning on a tweet like this, but Pennyroyal is extremely toxic and dangerous to health. Please do not consume this.
May 14, 2022 • 16 tweets • 5 min read
This is Iris, Messagère des dieux (Iris, Messenger of the Gods), also known as Flying Figure, or Eternal Tunnel, by the French sculptor, Rodin (1840-1917). Here is how she came to be.

Thread Iris, Messenger of the Gods is a bronze cast of woman’s bo In Greek mythology, Iris is the goddess of the rainbow & messenger of the gods. Her name translates to both rainbow & messenger. Rodin cast his Iris some time between 1902 and 1905. Only 7 bronzes were made from the cast during Rodin’s lifetime. A black and white photograph of Auguste Rodin. It is a face