19th Century Pornography
Photography, Films and Legal Response
Photography and Print
Pornography that was specifically made for self arousal and stimulation was successful and grew in the 19th century. By the late 1830's, there was already over 50 pornographic shops on Holywell Street in London. The, by the 1870's, New York alone was selling just over 100,000 pornography books per year.
In 1839, Louis Daguerre sold the rights of the 'daguerreotype’ to the French government, who proceeded to immediately publish the technology, as a free gift to the world. (Daguerreotype- early photographic process where a single image was directly exposed onto a metal plate.) The first pornographic daguerreotype is the image of a man inserting his erect penis into a middle-aged women's vagina.
The invention on the daguerreotype was a tremendous help to photography and specifically pornography. Even though daguerreotypes were hard to copy and tougher to mass produce, production and profits were seen in London, United States, and in France -- the country where the daguerreotype was donated to. As the price of printing decreased, there became an even high demand of the pornographic daguerreotypes. Given the demand of the pornographic photos the distribution of pornography occurred at many public places including train stations, bars, ext. More 'hardcore' photographs were sold as singles by peddlers on the street, or in sets of prints. The sets of prints would included nude women, couple and sometimes multiple couples engaging in sexual acts.
In 1839, Louis Daguerre sold the rights of the 'daguerreotype’ to the French government, who proceeded to immediately publish the technology, as a free gift to the world. (Daguerreotype- early photographic process where a single image was directly exposed onto a metal plate.) The first pornographic daguerreotype is the image of a man inserting his erect penis into a middle-aged women's vagina.
The invention on the daguerreotype was a tremendous help to photography and specifically pornography. Even though daguerreotypes were hard to copy and tougher to mass produce, production and profits were seen in London, United States, and in France -- the country where the daguerreotype was donated to. As the price of printing decreased, there became an even high demand of the pornographic daguerreotypes. Given the demand of the pornographic photos the distribution of pornography occurred at many public places including train stations, bars, ext. More 'hardcore' photographs were sold as singles by peddlers on the street, or in sets of prints. The sets of prints would included nude women, couple and sometimes multiple couples engaging in sexual acts.
Film (1st Pornographic Film)
Le Coucher De La Marie was made in France and was the first ever pornographic film ever made. The original movie was only seven minutes long but there is just over two minutes of the film that exist. Putting pornography on film was a gigantic step forward for the industry. There was now a way to for paying customers of porn to see real people engage in sexual acts, and physically feel like they were there in the room.
Legal Response
In 1873, the Comstock Act was passed in the United States. It was amended in 1876 to prohibit:
"Every obscene, lewd or lascivious book, pamphlet, picture, paper, writing, print, or other publication of an indecent character, … and every article or thing intended or adapted for any indecent or immoral use, and every written or printed card, circular, book, pamphlet, advertisement or notice of any kind giving information, directly or indirectly, where, or how, or of whom, or by what means, any of the before mentioned matters, articles or things may be obtained or made, and every letter upon the envelope of which, or postal card upon which, indecent, lewd, obscene or lascivious delineations, epithets, terms or language may be written or printed, are hereby declared to be non-mailable matter, and shall not be conveyed in the mails, nor delivered from any post office, nor by any letter carriers." (Comstock, 1967, p. 209)
"Every obscene, lewd or lascivious book, pamphlet, picture, paper, writing, print, or other publication of an indecent character, … and every article or thing intended or adapted for any indecent or immoral use, and every written or printed card, circular, book, pamphlet, advertisement or notice of any kind giving information, directly or indirectly, where, or how, or of whom, or by what means, any of the before mentioned matters, articles or things may be obtained or made, and every letter upon the envelope of which, or postal card upon which, indecent, lewd, obscene or lascivious delineations, epithets, terms or language may be written or printed, are hereby declared to be non-mailable matter, and shall not be conveyed in the mails, nor delivered from any post office, nor by any letter carriers." (Comstock, 1967, p. 209)