The art of tattooing emerged thousands of years ago, using methods and with meanings that differed from those we see today.
There is evidence of tattooing in humans dating back to 3255 BC, when a man now known as the Ötzi mummy died in the Alps. His body, which bore up to 61 tattoos, was discovered in 1991 by two German mountaineers.
We also come across Amunet, an Egyptian priestess who had several lines and dots on different parts of her body.
Over the years, the Egyptians spread this custom to other parts of the world, reaching as far as countries in the East.
Years later, the Hori family emerged in Japan; they were traditional tattoo artists regarded as masters of body art.
TEBORI: THE TRADITIONAL JAPANESE TATTOOING TECHNIQUE
Tebori is a traditional Japanese technique. The word ‘Tebori’ means ‘hand tattoo’, as the procedure is entirely manual, using only ink and needles.
Getting a tebori tattoo is more than just getting inked; it is a ritual, both for the tattoo artist and for the person receiving the tattoo.
The word “Tebori” means “hand”, and “Horu” means “to carve, engrave or sculpt”.
In Polynesia, it was customary to have one’s entire body tattooed. These tattoos usually took the form of geometric patterns and were added to the body throughout a person’s life until it was completely covered.
Tattooing gradually became established in Western society, and during the First World War, the Old School style of tattooing emerged.
ETYMOLOGY OF ‘TATAU’
It was also in Polynesia that the word’s etymology was established; ‘tatau’, which in Polynesian means ‘to mark’. The English sailors who went on an expedition to Polynesia in 1771 brought back to Europe what is now known as the modern tattoo. They established the art of tattooing through the word “tattoo”. Over the decades, sailors adopted tattooing as a means of identification and to inscribe various symbols on their skin. Years later, tattooing among sailors began to be associated with crime, as some of them were criminals who took to the seas to avoid being sentenced on the mainland.
FIRST FEMALE PROFESSIONAL TATTOO ARTIST
Maud Stevens Wagner, known as Maud Wagner, was a circus performer and is also recognised as the first professional female tattoo artist in the United States.
Maud was born in Lyon County, Kansas, in 1877. She worked in many travelling circuses as a contortionist and trapeze artist.
At the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, at the age of 27, she met a merchant seaman named Gus Wagner, who had travelled the world and returned to the United States with around 300 tattoos.
Gus also worked in circuses, where he amazed people with his intricate ink drawings, which he claimed to have learnt from tribes in Borneo and Java.
He asked her out on a date and she agreed, on the condition that he teach her the art of tattooing. Years later, they got married and had a daughter called Lotteva, who would eventually become a professional tattoo artist herself.
During the American Civil War, the art of tattooing became popular.
In 1870, the first tattoo studio opened in New York, run by Martin Hildebrant. It used other methods of tattooing until 1891, when the first tattoo machine was invented.
FIRST PROTOTYPE TATTOO MACHINE
In 1800, it all began with Thomas Edison, the American inventor, who developed the first prototype of a tattoo machine, which was rotary.
However, tattoo artist Samuel O’Reilly spent 15 years refining Edison’s design to create the first electric tattoo machine, which he patented in 1891.
From that point on, five years later, the design was improved by Charles Wagner, who created a model featuring two coils. However, the first modern tattoo machine was created in 1920 by Percy Waters, who designed 14 different styles.
Another significant development took place in 1979 when Carol Nightingale introduced an adjustable tattoo machine.
OLD AND MODERN TATTOO MACHINES
The earliest models were made of steel, iron and brass, whilst newer models are usually made from aluminium and very lightweight alloys. They also feature certain changes, such as a cartridge system as opposed to conventional needles and adjustable needle travel systems, as well as frequency and some other features. However, these machines, which are usually rotary in operation, generally offer the same performance as what we know as bobbin machines.
