It must be premised that, for the purpose, Hamburg is divided into two parts: the city proper, and the suburb of St. Paul. The latter is under a distinct municipal authority, and is the ordinary residence of seamen and those depending on a seafaring life.
For many years the police returns of the city proper would show about five hundred of the registered “common women” (eingeschrieben Dirnen), and one hundred registered brothels. The police regulations requiring monthly payment of the personal and house tax, and also a renewal of the permission to keep brothels at the same time, is a very convenient method of obtaining a census of the class. The following is a statement of the largest and smallest monthly number of registered women for several years:
| Year | 1883 | Largest | number, | 550 | Smallest | number, | 456 | ||
| " | 1834 | " | " | 550 | " | " | 450 | ||
| " | 1835 | " | " | 481 | " | " | 441 | ||
| " | 1836 | " | " | 546 | " | " | 473 | ||
| " | 1837 | " | " | 514 | " | " | 484 | ||
| " | 1844 | " | " | 502 | No reports. | ||||
| " | 1846 | " | " | 512 | No reports. | ||||
These monthly reports do not show any marked variation at any particular period, the rise and fall being arbitrary. The fluctuation is not very great in the aggregate, although from November, 1834, to January, 1835, there was a decrease of 86 (or nearly one fifth), while between November, 1835, and January, 1836, there was a corresponding increase. Since that time the numbers have remained steadily at about one point.
| The housekeepers’ (bordelwirth) return does not vary to the same extent. | |||
| The average is | 105 | ||
| But it decreased in 1844 to | 90 | ||
| """1845" | 93 | ||
| """1846" | 96 | ||
| Of these housekeepers in the last-named year (1846) there were | |||
| Males | 60 | ||
| Females | 36 | —96 | |
| In December, 1844, there were | |||
| Registered women | 502 | ||
| who were subdivided into those | |||
| Living in registered houses | 294 | ||
| Living privately | 208 | —502 | |
| In May, 1845, there were | |||
| Registered women | 505 | ||
| who were subdivided into those | |||
| Living in registered houses | 326 | ||
| Living privately | 179 | —505 | |
| (At this period there were four registered houses without any women in them.) | |||
| In August, 1846, there were | |||
| Registered women | 512 | ||
| who were subdivided into those | |||
| Living in registered houses | 334 | ||
| Living privately | 178 | —512 | |
These figures show that the number of those living privately is gradually diminishing, more of them being concentrated in the registered houses.
Dr. Lippert is of opinion that prostitution decreases in the summer and increases in the winter months. The statistics will certainly support this theory, but the difference is so small as scarcely to warrant its reception as a rule.
| Thus the months of May and July, for five years, give a monthly average of | 4995⁄10 | |
| and the months of November and January for the same time give a monthly average of | 5011⁄10 | |
| showing an average increase in the winter months of | 16⁄10 | |
| or about one third of one per cent. on the average number of prostitutes. |