Storyville was the red-light district of New Orleans from 1897 until 1919 when WW1 broke out.

It was a neighborhood of sex, live jazz music and other vices and took place in big mansions. As a kid, Louis Armstrong got his start first bringing in coal for the fireplaces, and then hanging around to secretly watch the band where King Creole handed him a cornet and taught him to play.

Storyville was torn down after its demise, and largely forgotten about until, during an estate sale in the 1970s, a photographer and his journalist buddy purchased a desk from the sale and inside found glass negatives of photos taken of the women of Storyville. They each published a book about it - one heavy on the photographs and one heavy on the narration of Storyville.