JAPANESE OIRAN COURTESAN : BEAUTIFUL GEISHA : FROM US NAVAL OFFICER : RPPC

This vintage real photo postcard features a beautiful Oiran Courtesan accompanied by her young assistants (kamaro). What is an Oiran? An Oiran is a high class, beautiful and esteemed prostitute in Tokyo. Her assistants are often apprentices; in other words, future Oirans. How are Oirans different from Geishas you may ask. Geishas are highly trained entertainers. They entertained via song, dance, or playing a musical instrument. Geishas were not necessarily prostitutes, though some were. This postcard comes from a collection that belonged to a US Navy officer. He likely acquired the card while in a Japanese port during his tour of duty. This postcard likely was issued in around 1908. SOLD

Published in: on September 22, 2025 at 12:00 pm  Leave a Comment  
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HIGHLY RATED FRENCH PROSTITUTE, ALICE MAROT ON A WINDOW SILL IN PARIS, FRANCE

This cabinet card captures Alice Marot sitting on a window sill in Benque’s photographic studio in Paris, France. Alice Marot was a high class prostitute. She appeared in “The Pretty Women of Paris”, a privately printed guide to Paris’s best courtesans and prostitutes. The guide provided names, addresses, qualities, and faults for each women. According to the directory, Marot could be found a 4 Rue de Marigan. The guide describes Marot as a “sprightly fair, little whore” who had been quite lucky to rise above a checkered career on the provincial stages. When she came to Paris, she utilized the Palais Royal Theatre to enlarge the circle of her lovers. She was considered by other members of “the army of  cupid” to be a threat because she had a propensity to “tumble on her back” at all hours of the day and night. Benque’s studio was located at 33, Rue Boissy D’Anglas. M. M. Benque was a well known celebrity photographer.

Published in: on April 28, 2011 at 12:01 am  Leave a Comment  
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