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Are tattoos just a passing trend? Far from it. Tattoos have been a prominent feature throughout history, with even the most respectable individuals sporting them—not just the rough crowd.
Humans have always enjoyed adorning their bodies. While stage performers had designs painted on them, many others chose permanent tattoos, proudly showcasing their body art for everyone to admire.
10. Bromide, Whiskey, And Cocaine
Women of high society in the late 1800s were fond of tattoos, yet they dreaded the pain. To ease their anxiety about the needle, they would consume a special cocktail beforehand.
First, the woman would take some bromide to calm her nerves. If she wished, she could mix the bromide into a strong shot of whiskey. Once she was ready, the tattoo artist (often a woman in the high society circles) would bring out a bottle of liquid cocaine. Using a small sponge, she would apply the cocaine to the tattoo area, numbing the skin. This could be reapplied repeatedly until the tattoo was finished.
The tattoos were typically small, often placed on the woman’s arm, easily concealed with a long glove if she chose. Popular designs in 1899 included shamrocks, hearts, and the silhouette of a beloved pet.
9. Tattoos From The Great War
During World War I, women were eager to demonstrate their support, not just for the war but for the men they loved. By 1915, it became quite fashionable for women to visit tattoo artists and have their sweetheart's regiment inked onto their skin.
The most popular spot for these tattoos was the upper arm. Known as the “latest trend,” these devoted women in England had no hesitation in publicly showing their love and loyalty for the men they admired and cherished.
Meanwhile, soldiers captured by the Germans were getting a very different kind of tattoo. According to the story, one prisoner managed to escape from a German camp. To quickly identify any future escapees, all captives were tattooed on their hands with the inscription “Kr-Gef” along with the year of imprisonment. These letters stood for the German abbreviation of “war prisoner.”
8. Tattoos on Their Chins
Reverend Arthur Ranier from New Zealand reported that women had a constant struggle keeping the hem of their dresses securely around their ankles. Known for their clever tricks, it seemed something needed to be done to address the issue.
In 1908, Rev. Ranier believed it would be beneficial for women, upon marriage, to have a tattoo on their chins, signaling they were already taken. He thought this would end divorce and prevent women from leaving the home to engage in affairs with other men.
Fortunately, not everyone bought into this bizarre idea. As one newspaper pointed out, “What scientific logic led this so-called divine fool to believe this would stop the ‘affairs’?” In fact, most reports of infidelity in the early 1900s indicated that the other man was just as responsible, if not fully to blame, for the affair. A simple chin tattoo wouldn’t stop the stirrings of the heart or body.
7. Vaccination and Bullet Scars
In 1922, Ben Corday operated a tattoo shop in Louisiana and was interviewed about his peculiar profession. His observations on who sought tattoos and the designs they chose reveal that little has changed in the tattoo world. For example, couples frequently had initials inked on their ring fingers, while sailors were regular clients, often opting for tattoos of beautiful women or patriotic emblems on their arms.
At times, Corday was asked to do cosmetic tattooing, replacing a scarred eyebrow with a tattooed one. He also had a knack for beautifying scars, covering them with elegant, feminine tattoos. Vaccination scars were a common concern for women in the 1920s, and Corday often concealed them with delicate floral or butterfly tattoos.
A unique tattoo trend during this period was the laurel wreath. Soldiers returning from wars with bullet scars often had a laurel wreath tattooed around the wound to symbolize victory over death.
6. Milk and Toothpick Tattoo Removal
An old sailor’s trick to remove unwanted tattoos became popular among criminals who wanted to erase identifying marks on their skin in an attempt to evade justice.
According to sea lore circulating in 1899, the most effective way to remove a tattoo was to use milk and a toothpick. The method was reportedly painful. To remove the ink, the toothpick had to be repeatedly poked into the tattooed skin, followed by the application of milk to break down the ink. The area would scab over, leaving a scar in its wake.
Criminals aiming to deceive the police would often cover their scarred skin with a fresh tattoo, allowing them to deny their identity if captured and interrogated.
5. The End of Nude Women Tattoos
What is a sailor without a naked lady tattoo? These tattoos, particularly popular in 1917, came under fire when US Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels ruled that men with such tattoos would be barred from joining the Navy.
This decision caused an uproar during World War I, as many former sailors and seasoned seafarers, eager to re-enlist, saw it as their patriotic duty to help train the new recruits, only to be denied because of their tattoos.
In response to Secretary Daniels’s decision, the Navy League stepped in to assist these men. The proposal was to have tattoo artists cover up their naked ladies with skirts and dresses. However, Daniels rejected this idea outright. Instead, he declared that if these older men wished to return to the Navy, they would have to personally fund the removal or covering of their tattoos.
4. The Trend for Permanent Complexion
In 1920, it became all the rage in London to have permanent rosy cheeks. The trend quickly made its way to New York City, with women eagerly visiting specialists to have their cheeks tattooed with a healthy, youthful tint. While they were at it, they would also have scars concealed and eyebrows permanently enhanced. Brightly inked lips were another favorite, and many older women believed that permanent makeup made them appear younger.
This new beauty trend was made possible thanks to the invention of the electric needle. Traditional hand-pierced tattoos were too uneven for cosmetic use, but the electric needle ensured precise depth with every puncture, and the use of new, non-toxic pigments expanded the tattoo artist’s color palette beyond the limited options of blue and red.
3. The Monogrammed Dog
By 1899, it wasn’t enough for sailors and society women to be inked—they had to push the tattoo craze even further. In a new and bizarre twist, people began tattooing their dogs as well.
The most popular trend was to tattoo family dogs with their owners’ monogram, often placed on the dog’s chest, just below the collarbone, so it could be easily seen. For a more decorative touch, a scrollwork design was sometimes added around the monogram. One article noted that the process was “necessarily painful,” but the dog would endure the discomfort for “any improvement upon himself.”
While it’s easy to condemn the dog owners for this cruel practice, we must also remember that this was a profitable side business for many tattoo artists. These artists would visit wealthy households, offering to tattoo dogs at the same cost as a human monogram tattoo.
2. The Tattoos of Anarchists
While women adorned their arms with fleur-de-lis tattoos, anarchists were choosing their own permanent ink designs.
A 1903 report revealed that although anarchists kept their personal beliefs hidden from others, they wore simple tattoos to identify fellow anarchists. Surprisingly, most of these tattoos were not artistic but rather represented their work and values.
Some tattoos depicted tools like shovels and picks, while others featured hammers and anvils. Criminologists believed these symbols reflected the anarchists' hardworking nature, with the idea that 'as a rule, anarchists are good workers, thrifty and seldom addicted to dissipation.'
Although anarchists were known for their strong work ethics, they faced bans across Europe during that era. The only places they could freely gather and share their ideas without fear of being caught by the secret police were England and the United States.
Anarchists weren't the only secretive groups getting tattoos in the early 1900s. Some tattoo artists admitted to having faith in the underground whispers, noticing that men would arrive within short intervals requesting unique tattoo designs that had never been seen before.
1. Identification
Sailors and seamen were well aware that tattoos could serve as a means of identifying their bodies if they were lost. During World War I, some soldiers had their names inked on them, knowing that their identification tags might be easily lost in the chaos of explosions during the harrowing trench warfare.
In an intriguing story published in 1908, a homeless man was identified posthumously, all thanks to the tattoo on his body.
According to the story, an embalmer named Mr. Oakley was tasked with collecting the remains of a tramp who had been struck by a train in Kansas. As he inspected each piece of the unfortunate man, Oakley realized it would be impossible to reassemble him for identification. However, Oakley's keen eyes spotted a tattoo on one fragment of skin.
Oakley carefully cut and cleaned the tattooed skin, even tanning it in hopes of using it to identify the remains. The dismembered body was buried in a potter's field, but the tanned, tattooed skin initially became an oddity on display. It wasn’t long before news of the tattooed hide spread.
One day, an elderly couple came to see the tattooed skin. Upon recognizing it, they were overcome with emotion. It was the tattoo their estranged son had worn, the same son they had been searching for. The remains of their son were found in the potter's field and returned with them to California, where he was laid to rest in the family’s plot.
