Begining

In the late 1800s tattooing enjoyed a brief passion among the titled classes in the U.K. Devotees included the Duke of York (later King George V), who had a dragon inked on his arm in 1882, and Winston Churchill's mother, Lady Randolph Churchill, who wore a snake tattooed on her wrist.
But tattooing really came of age in the United States, where the journey of tattooing from the fringe to the mainstream travelled with circus sideshows, marched across the world and back with military men, stayed alive thanks partly to outlaw biker gangs and took the spotlight as musicians and actors got inked and everyone else wanted to follow along.
The German tattoo artist, Martin Hildebrand, opened his tattoo shop in New York City in 1846. There he inked designs on sailors, and he also traveled to Union and Confederate camps to tattoo soldiers who fought on both sides of the Civil War.
Civil war tattoos included patriotic symbols such as images to commemorate major battles. These soldiers made an impression upon their return to New York.
The invention of the tattoo machine, back-to-back wars, and a fashionable demand for tattoos made the art lucrative for a group of tattooers in the latter half of the 1800s.
Chatham Square in New York City's Bowery was the epicentre of the tattoo world in the United States. It was an area where tenements were crowded with new Americans, and where the population swelled as sailors disembarked from ships docking at the southern end of Manhattan. Chatham Square roiled with the amenities to serve them: gin joints, burlesque theatres and cheap hotels.
Samuel O'Reilly, who is credited with the invention of the electric tattoo machine in 1891, set up his shop in Chatham Square. He was able to make a good living using what he called his Electric Engraving Pen.
The electric tattoo machine revolutionized the art of putting ink into skin by reducing the time to make a design exponentially. The subsequent advent of tattoo equipment suppliers helped bring standardization to the industry.
O'Reilly and his compatriots inked sailors off to the Spanish American War quickly and profitably. In the old days sailors used to while away their time aboard ship pricking designs in each other's skin. Navy men would get tattoos as souvenirs, like Chinese dragons and religious icons on Mediterranean tours.
Military influence brought tattooing to both coasts and other parts of the country where there were bases, but the circus - a major entertainment - gave many Americans their first glimpse of tattooed people. The golden age of the American circus in the latter part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century introduced heavily tattooed "attractions" to the hinterlands.
Tattoo artists showcased their work by exhibiting people they had inked. James O'Connel may have been the first tattooed man on exhibit at a circus in the 1830s. Irene "La Belle" Woodward was billed as the first and only tattooed woman on the sideshow circuit in the 1880s.
Charlie Wagner, who was one of the best-known tattooists of his day, apprenticed with Samuel O'Reilly. When Wagner was a child, he was said to have seen a tattooed man in a sideshow. That experience inspired him to get tattoos himself and then to become a tattoo artist.
Charlie Wagner gained notoriety tattooing sideshow performers like Betty Broadbent, who worked for decades for the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. He also inked sideshow performer May Astoria. Wagner was a freehand artist who eschewed the use stencils in his work.
Wagner brought Lew Alberts into his studio when O'Reilly was gone, and the two artists started up a tattoo supply business. Alberts was famous for his design sheets, the precursor to flash. He drew hearts, roses, snakes, dragons, and religious themes in the traditional style. Flash has since become an art form that's collectible in its own right.
Religious iconography served as inspiration for many tattoos in the U.S. With four wars in less than 80 years the iconography of war was key in the history of American tattoo. But American tattooers were also fearless innovators, unafraid to translate new styles and trends into ink on skin. Characters from comic books, representations of movie stars and cosmetic tattoos all enjoyed a rage.
The Second World War helped revive interest in tattoos after the lean years of the Depression. During the 1940s there was renewed market for patriotic designs, and a brisk business for tattoo artists adding modesty to designs of nude women.
Some artists made their names working near the fleets. Sailor Jerry was known as "the Cezanne of tattooing" for his decision to live and tattoo in Hawaii for many years.
Cap Coleman ran a shop in Norfolk, Virginia, and served the naval population and others there for many years until the Norfolk city fathers quit issuing licenses and started forcing people out so that it could redevelop the old section of town.
After the end of the war, tattooing remained in blue-collar realm, and women were seldom inked unless they were twenty-one, or with the okay of their spouse.
Tattooing entered a long, difficult era in the 1950s as cities and states enacted a series of legislative changes to make it more difficult to operate tattoo shops. New
York City finally outlawed tattooing in 1961. While some tattoo artists relocated across the river in New Jersey and other nearby states, many others went underground.
Lawmakers took a moralist point of view of tattooing that was underpinned by the traditional Christian prohibition against ink in skin, although the decision to halt tattoo work in New York was blamed on a hepatitis outbreak. The move precipitated a big shift in the art as the centre of North American tattoo culture moved to the West Coast.
Tattooing didn't stop, but it was more difficult for artists to advertise, and impossible to ensure health standards were being met. Other cities and states also stopped granting licenses to tattoo businesses. For example, it's still illegal to run a tattoo shop in Oklahoma.
Street and motorcycle gangs were a key to maintaining tattoo culture during the years when it was difficult to operate tattoo shops. Many outlaw and biker gang members showed their affiliation by getting tattoos of totems that highlighted their affiliation.
Tattoos worn by members of motorcycle gangs often included images of devils, skulls or gang logos and names. Even today many Latino street gang members in Los Angeles have stylized skull tattoos, representing rebirth.
The 60s also saw a revival of interest in military tattoos with the Vietnam War. Soldiers and sailors got inked during their tours in Asian centres like Hong Kong, Manila and Tokyo.
Ink in skin artists like Charlie Barrs, Owen Jensen and Pinky Yuen made became famous for their artful military tattooing.
Charlie Barrs had a reputation as one of the best tattooers in the country. He worked on both coasts -- in Norfolk with Cap Coleman, and invited an artist named Owen Jensen to work at his shop in Los Angeles.
Jensen began his working life as a machinist and went on to make tattoo machines. He set up the only tattoo supply business in Los Angeles in the 1940s. Pinky Yuen was one of the first tattoo artists from Hong Kong to move to the United States and set up a shop.
Tattoo artists began holding their own conventions just like other professionals in 1976. Lyle Tuttle, who worked on famed clients like Janis Joplin and Peter Fonda, consciously worked to bring tattoo arts to the mainstream. He was the subject of documentaries and was photographed for Rolling Stone magazine.
And then came MTV. The image parade of tattooed musicians began to change the cultural view of tattoos. Tattoos began to shift to the mainstream because celebrities are the focus of so much adulation in America.
Music videos helped dispel the old stereotype that only bikers, soldiers and prisoners got tattoos. The new view of tattoo is of fashion, adornment. During the 70s and 80s, fans of tattooing took an interest in other tattoo traditions. Celtic, Japanese and Oceanic styles enjoyed a revival.
It used to be that a person got tattooed to be outside of the mainstream, but that's no longer the case. In the 21st century tattooing is regarded as a fine art, and many tattooers create custom designs for their clients, rather than relying on the off-the-wall designs of flash.
Tattoo has moved away from the dark reputation it held in the past, and captured a place in the culture as personal and sometimes spiritual statement.
Heartfelt thanks to C.W. Eldridge, who maintains the Tattoo Archive in Berkeley California. (www.tattooarchive.com) and to the personal photo collection of Thomas Lockhart, Vancouver, Canada (www.westcoasttattoo.com)