It's been a few days since we've read anything about a hooker, huh? We're sort of beginning to miss them. Ashley Dupré and Kristin Davis made libidinous ladies cool again — and it's about time. New York has a long and illustrious tradition of tarts, you see. In the twentieth century alone, it goes all the way back to the halcyon days of Polly Adler’s bordellos in the twenties. Surely you remember the name Sidney Biddle Barrows, otherwise known as the “Mayflower Madam”? Or Gypsy Rose Lee? There are others, of course, who don’t have Broadway musicals named after them. For example, we bet you don’t have the name Megan Marshak seared into your memory (hint: Nelson Rockefeller’s widow probably did). That’s why we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of the greatest tarts in New York City history, for your titillation edification. —Jessica Coen

The Greatest Tarts in New York History [Slideshow]