Sallie Shearer | |
|---|---|
_and_unidentifed_women.jpg) The woman on the left is thought to be Sallie Shearer. Photograph by William Goldman, c. 1892.[1] | |
| Born | Sarah D. Fisher c. 1848 Muhlenberg Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania |
| Died | 1 October 1909 Reading, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Brothel keeper |
| Spouse | Christopher Shearer |
Sarah D. Shearer (née Fisher; c. 1848 – 1 October 1909) was an American brothel-keeper in Reading, Pennsylvania. She married the artist Christopher Shearer who abandoned her and their sons to study in Europe, and whom she subsequently divorced. In 1880 she was working as a dressmaker but by 1883 she was working in the sex business and eventually opened a high-class "parlor house" (brothel) of her own.
Despite frequent brushes with the law and serving at least one jail sentence, she was financially successful and able to buy property and keep a fancy carriage. In the 1890s, the women of her house were the subjects of a secret collection of photographs made by local photographer William Goldman that was published in book form in 2018. She died of diabetes and was buried in a lavish casket at the Lutheran cemetery in Reading.
- ^ Johnson, Robert Flynn. (2018) Working Girls: An American Brothel, circa 1892. The Secret Photographs of William Goldman. New York: Glitterati Editions. pp. 31 & 214. ISBN 9781943876587
- ^ Johnson, p. 46.