From promotional advertising to police surveillance.
De la promotion publicitaire à la surveillance policière.
Résumé
This article is based on the archives of the Paris police (BB1 series) and considers both the written reports and the photographs of women suspected of practising clandestine prostitution between 1861 and 1876; it also draws on the Carnavalet Museum collections for comparative purposes. It contributes to the exploration of literary, visual, documentary and journalistic sources on prostitution during the third quarter of the nineteenth century, by bringing together these two types of documents. The study reveals the circular nature of power relationships in a context of commodification of bodies and images. These women were staging their own appearance in a strategic or subversive manner, to meet the demands of a competitive market. As a distinguishing feature marking their belonging to the better-off classes, photography became a promotional resource as well as an instrument of repression.
Cet article propose une analyse croisée des rapports et des photographies du registre BB1 de la préfecture de police de Paris sur des femmes suspectées d’exercer la prostitution clandestine entre 1861 et 1876, en s’appuyant à des fins comparatives sur les collections du musée Carnavalet. Il contribue à l’exploration des sources littéraires, iconographiques, documentaires et journalistiques sur la prostitution du troisième quart du xixe siècle en rapprochant deux types de documentation. L’étude révèle la circularité des rapports de pouvoir dans un contexte de marchandisation des corps et des images. Ces femmes se mettent en scène de façon stratégique ou subversive, répondant aux attentes d’un marché concurrentiel. Signe distinctif marquant l’appartenance aux classes favorisées, la photographie devient un outil de promotion autant que de répression.