Harris's List Digital Archive · 1761–1794
A digital scholarly archive of the annual directory of London sex workers, published between 1760 and 1794. This project provides access to all eighteen surviving editions (the earliest from 1761) and explores the lives of women in Georgian London's sex trade through critical historical analysis.
Richard Newton, Progress of a Woman
of Pleasure
Hand-coloured etching, on wove (watermarked
"1794"), central fold, 535 x 740mm., William Holland, 20 April, 1796 ·
Bonhams Books & Manuscripts
· Wikimedia Commons
18surviving editions, all in facsimile and full text
2,659entries, searchable and mapped
1,248verse mottoes, analysed by source, genre and theme
1761–1794thirty-four years of the List
Harris's List appeared (with little irregularity) from 1760 to 1794. Eighteen editions survive, and every one can be read here in facsimile and full text. Each is listed with the library whose copy is reproduced and its number in the English Short Title Catalogue.
No copy is known of the editions for 1760, 1762–63, 1767–70, 1772, 1775–76, 1778, 1780–82, 1784–85 and 1792.
Harris's List was published annually between 1760 and 1794 (the earliest surviving edition is from 1761), documenting the names, addresses, physical descriptions, and personal histories of London's sex workers. While written entirely from the male perspective and designed for male consumption, these texts offer rare glimpses into the lives of marginalised women in Georgian society.
This digital archive approaches these materials with critical awareness, seeking to recover women's voices and experiences while acknowledging the problematic nature of the source material. Our research examines questions of class, economics, gender, and social marginalisation across the publication history.
About the project →