Study of the changing patterns of
prostitution in the ninetennth-century city including descriptions and
maps of the neighborhoods as well as some discussion of specific prostitutes
and their clientele.
http://r2.gsa.gov/fivept/fphome.htm
http://r2.gsa.gov/fivept/readlist.htm
Daniel N. Pagano, Ph.D.
Urban Archeologist
The City of New York
Landmarks Preservation Commission
Municipal Building
One Centre Street, 9th Floor North
New York, NY 10007
Ph. 212 669 7826
Fax 212 669 7818
Email: [log in to unmask]
-----Original
Message-----
From: A LISTSERV list for
discussions pertaining to New York State history.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Annmarie Lanesey
Sent: Thursday, May
31, 2007 10:10 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [NYHIST-L] Red Light
Districts / Mame Faye
Greetings All!
I am a filmmaker working on a documentary video project about Mame Faye, a madame who lived in Troy, NY and ran a brothel on Troy's 'line' (red light district) at the turn of the century up until around 1943.
For the project we are interviewing and collecting oral histories from people who have stories about times on 'the line' as well as from people who have heard stories as passed down through the generations.
If anyone has any information on written documentation on red light districts in and around NYS at the turn of the century or any information on Troy's thriving red light district, or Mame Faye herself, or other Madames from troy, and that time, I would greatly appreciate anything offered!
More info on project:
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Mame Faye did not exist. At least that's what the history books would have you believe. Prostitutes and madams, no matter how well-known or successful, are not part of legitimate history. But the oldtimers of Troy, New York insist that Mame Faye did exist. It would seem everyone past the age of retirement in Troy has a story – funny, sordid, unbelievable, apocryphal – about Mame. Together, these previously unrecorded oral histories tell a rich tale of a booming industrial city's complex relationship to its own seedy side at the end of the Victorian era that was Troy's heyday.
Sitting on a Million is an experimental documentary (digital video; estimated length 30:00) centered around this colorful lady from Troy's past. With nods to unlikely influences such as Howard Zinn, Xaviera Hollander (the "Happy Hooker") and Miranda July, Sitting on a Million is a blend of oral history, wild speculation, unreliable narrators and reenactments bringing to life the spirit of this forgotten woman. In the realm of Mame's story, tall tales, rumors and urban myths vie with newspaper records for legitimacy. Accounts contradict one another. Two pictures identified as Mame Faye do not appear to be of the same person. People shed tears at the memory of events that likely never occurred. In this way the video actively deconstructs the received wisdom of history textbooks and asks the viewer to consider the role of memory and imagination in creating history.
This work is a collaboration between myself (Annmarie Lanesey) and Penny Lane (both CV's attached). Thus far we have collected videotaped personal remembrances of Mame from over 30 of Troy's elder citizens. We have commissioned the Uncle Sam Chorus, a local barbershop quartet to record songs in Mame's honor, mostly Irish love songs and funeral dirges (our lady was a devout Irish Catholic). Bits of Mame's estate have turned up around town: an outrageously huge ruby ring, an armoire, her hand-carved oak bed. We are working with her sole remaining relatives, who were not aware of their family connection until we contacted them, to photograph clothes, paintings and other relics long lost in the attic. Most recently, her gravestone, unmarked for 63 years (since her death) was finally engraved with the name of the legendary woman who lies beneath it.
Sitting on a Million asks the
viewer to think beyond pre-conceived notions about what a 'documentary' about
prostitution would be like. We are neither dwelling on the salacious details
of who did what to whom behind which doors nor are we attempting a
simplified-sex-positive-revisionist-history that paints prostitution as an
empowering act (though Mame was by all accounts a strong woman in a time when
the words 'strong' and 'woman' didn't go hand in hand). Because of these
characteristics, we see a very broad audience for this piece made up of folks
in both local and international contexts, comprised of folks with feminist
leanings, history buffs, postmodern theorists, and senior citizens who will be
pleased to see some respectful representation of their generation.
--
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ANNMARIE LANESEY
http://www.mamefaye.com
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