[Ads-l] Antedating of "Red Light District"

[Ben Zimmer]

On Sun, Oct 11, 2026 at 8:18 PM James Landau <
00000c13e57d49b8-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> From Google Books (I searched on “red light district” restricted to 19th
> Century and found the following on the second page:
> Report of the ... Annual Meeting of the National Woman's Christian
> Temperance Union. United States, n.p, 1882
>  Page 332
> <begin quote>
> New Jersey---Orange W. C. T. U. hasa remarkable record of good work.  They
> maintain the breakfast rescue mission and Fair Have rescue home.  Atlantic
> City shelter has cared for forty women,m ten babies and rescued three girls
> from the red light district.
> <end quote>
>

Google Books link:
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_of_the_Annual_Meeting_of_the_Nati/NN5CAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=RA2-PA332&printsec=frontcover

This actually combines two different volumes, one from 1882 and 1909. This
quote is from the 1909 volume.

--bgz

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