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Getting a tattoo can be a wonderful experience or a
nerve racking experience. The best way to make your first tattoo a good experience
is to understand what is going on during the procedure. In this part, we will go
over the history of tattooing and its social significance. You will learn how
tattoos work and what is being used to create them.
Tattooing is probably one of the few professions that
has been around longer than prostitution. Tattooing has had the same amount of
persecution, if not more. Evidence of tattoo implements has been found in Europe,
and dates back between 10,000 and 30,000 B.C.E. If your parents or grandparents
want to give you grief for getting a tattoo,you can remind them that further
back in the family tree,by a few thousand years, your ancestors were most
likely getting tattooed by the campfire. That probably won't dissuade them, but at
least you tried.
The sailors who
came into contact with the different tattoo cultures began to collect tattoos
themselves. They started to tattooeach other, by hand, and brought the craft
back home. Different designs for tattoos were being created and kept in the
studios for reuse. These designs came to be known as flash. England was a popular
spot for tattooing because many naval officers would get tattooed, as well as
British royalty. Hori Chyo tattooed the Duke of York in Yokohama in 1882; the
Duke of York later became King George V.
The popularity of tattooing
in England spread and soon there were tattoo shops in every port. Tattooing was
imported to U.S. ports where it flourished in New York. It was in New York where
the advent of electricity modernized the tattoo process.
The First Machine
In 1891, a New Yorker named Samuel O'Reilly patented the first electric
tattoo machine. O'Reilly had been tattooing by hand on the infamous Bowery (Third
Avenue) in lower Manhattan. He took an electric rotary engraving device created
by Thomas Edison and modified it so it could be used for tattooing. O'Reilly soon
offered the device for sale, along with designs, colors, and other tattoo
supplies. This created a boom of new tattooists.
The Circus
In the
nineteenth century, circuses started using heavily tattooed people as part of the
Freak Show. Some of the sailors would come back from Polynesia, covered in
tattoos. The mainstream Western world had never seen that before and would pay to
see the tattooed freaks. Some heavily tattooed people even had audiences with
the various royal families of Europe. In 1842, P. T. Barnum employed James F.
O'Connellas the first tattooed man ever on exhibit in the United States. Many
circuses also employed tattooists to tattoo the circus goers. Places like Coney
Island became hotspots for tattooing.
The Sailor Tatoo
In the early
twentieth century, tattooing primarily flourished in the ports of major cities
such as New York and Copenhagen. Sailors would spend their money on booze and
tattoos. The designs usually consisted of pin-up girls, sailing ships,
roses,anchors, and hearts, to name a few. Tattooists would see tattoos from other
tattooists in different countries. It wasn't long before tattooists began to
contact each other. Sailor Jerry Collins was a tattooist working in Honolulu and
was contacted by the Japanese tattooist Kazuo Oguri in 1970. The two traded
information, such as where to get good colors as well as design concepts. Sailor
Jerry was also in contact with two younger tattooists, Mike Malone and Ed Hardy.
Soon Kazuo Oguri was introduced to Malone and Hardy, and a bridge between
Japanese tattooing and western tattooing was built.
The Tattoo convention
Tattooists have traditionally been very secretive, but by the mid ’70s,
tattooists started to get together. Tattooists started to organize tattoo
conventions. The conventions became meeting grounds for tattooists to share
ideas,show their work, and drink together. Bonds were formed and tattooists began
to visit each other, working in each other's shops. Conventions also allowed for
tattoo enthusiasts to get tattooed by someone who lived in another state or
country. Today there are tattoo conventions all the time, all over the world.
Tattoo
Commercialism
Tattooing has become so popular and socially
accepted that it has become highly marketable. Miami Ink, a reality TV show
about a tattoo shop on South Beach, has broadened the acceptance of tattooing.
Many corporations such as Camel cigarettes are using tattoo designs in their
advertisement campaigns to reach customers. Ed Hardy, one of the pioneers of
tattooing, even has his own energy drink and clothing line. Christian Audigier,
who also made Von Dutch a household name, runs Ed Hardy Vintage Tattoo Wear. Ed
Hardy Vintage Tattoo Wear is geared toward high-end fashion and has numerous pop stars such as Lil Jon featured in its
advertisements.
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