Dated June/July of 2010, Quarter Rat’s sixteenth edition was dedicated to the females of the French Quarter, or “ladies of the Vieux Carre,” including, but not limited to, the shot girls, strippers, bartenders and even the tourists.
It was essentially Quarter Rat’s “swimsuit issue,” but with Xeroxed photos of amateur models. And it wasn’t as colorful as previous issues. In fact, it had only three colors: black, white, and pink front and back pages. As with past issues, it was printed in a zine format.
Many of the photocopied pictures include female service industry workers, some of whom you may recognize. Do any of them still work in the French Quarter?
“We’ll stand up and salute the beautiful girls who keep ’em stiff for us every night… the drinks that is,” wrote Otis B. Easy. “These service industry girls went the extra mile for you readers. So when you see them, buy them a shot, throw them a tip, ask them to marry you or just tell them ‘thank you.'”
The issue was published shortly before the 2010 World Cup and is filled with raunchy, audacious tales illustrating the evolutionary motivations that drive commercial and personal behavior in the French Quarter: money and sex.
In one piece, seasoned bartender Jenna Tonic writes a story of how she sold her sweaty pair of $5 Victoria Secret underwear to a middle-aged, drunk male patron for $400, during a bartending shift on Bourbon Street.
“I paid my rent and then I even made a little bit of money bartending that night too,” she wrote. “I was wearing my rent making skirt. It was short. I mean really short. I tried to keep my special lady parts covered as much as possible, but I’m pretty sure my exposed ass is where the rest of my money came from.”
The issue solicited stories in one advertisement, which read:
“Submit your funniest French Quarter Moments in 1,000,000 words or less and receive a free oil-covered nutria and an authentic 2011 Super Bowl Ring. Send submissions, ideas, photos, or anything else to quarterrat@Ymail.com. Also feel free to stop by Molly’s on Toulouse Fri-Mon latenight to share your ideas or suggestions with the editor.”
