The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-07-25
THE ART OF TATTOOING.
AN EXPERT GIVES MUCH CURIOUS
INFoRMATAo
The Wen who Practice TattoOing and
Those Who Patronize 1.-THE Art
of - ScrimDSchOu.,,

g am so regarded, " replied the artist
"The popularity OF tattooing as an
adornment of the body is on the increase.
The time is not far distant when every
man will have his name on his person
somewhere. 1t is invaluable, don't you
see, in case of accident, or for deaf and
dumb people"
The art will need many artists" sug-
gcsted the reporter
True; but where are they to come
from3 1t is something that can't be
learned. 1t is gift of nature. 1t came
SO to me-"
"Why can't it be learncd2"
"That's more than l am able to say.
I attempted to teach several ambitious
young fellows how to put the ink in. l
gave them great deal of time and
patience, but it was useless. They
couldn't learn. One of these students
was an excellent man with the pencil.
He drew well enough, but when he began
to work the sketch in he failed utterly.
All large and complicated pictures are
outlined in pencil first, and on a larger
scale than they are expected to appear,
for the cuticle is stretched to the highest
possible tension during the entire
work"
els it a painful operation2"
"Quite so at first. But the flesh be-
comes benumbed at the end of quarter
of an hour. have sixteen pieces Of work
on various parts of my body. The only
really interesting amateur that | have ever
had work at me was the young lady who
put her name on the fleshy part of my
arm" saying which Mr.. Tevis rolled up
his sleeve and exhibited, in dainty char
acters of old English vermilion, colored
with blue shading, the word mamie. u
I'm what country are the best work.
men found2
''Here in America; no other country
furnishes such experts with the bodkin.
Englishmen do not belong to an artistic
race. They only tattoo flags, leaves or
flowers; they can't do a good figure.
The French don't do much A flag,
laid on fiat, or liberty cap is about their
best. 1t is in the Sandwich Islands that
the best artists are found outside of
America. The Kanakas use indigo and
cinnabar, all vegetable matter. A sharks
tooth or fish bone is used. They &C
complish wonderful results. The bone is
set in stick, and then the tension is put
on the flesh with their feet, as they beat
the picture in, bit by bit. Snakes, fish
and alligators are their strong points.
The japanese and Chinese are experts,
after fashion. They draw only Chinese
or japanese pictures, and generally put
the name of the object under what they
portray. Turks and Russians know alb
solutely nothing about it, though I've
seen sailors of both nationalities who
were tattooed. 1t is an unknown prac-
tice in Africa"
I" How does the art migrate ~
"The American sailors are the nomads
of the profession. They go from port
to port, and some of them are so we'll
known that they have customers await
ing their arrival in nearly every harbor
they enter. Take the Spanish or Italian
cities for instance. There is always a
floating population in those seaports, and
Jack gathers In good many pesetas
and silver scudi. In the East India
ports, especially Bombay, he is in great
demand among the Lascars and light
coored Hindoos. The latter are very
partial to vermilion-which is red oxide
of mercury, and therefore makes the
flesh very sore. Often the subject
gets quite ill from the effects on the
system. There are only two colors that
can be worked into the f1esh-black and
red. You don't know, perhaps, that
black India ink turns blue There is no
blue ink. 1t is mystery which science
has never solved. The change in color
is due to some action of the blood.
doubtless, Another interesting fact is
that no two sticks of India ink produce
the same color in the same flesh. 1t is
equally true that one stick of ink pro-
duces different shades of blue in different
persons. If we take lampblack, or SCOT.
or charcoal, or black lead from the pencil
you write with and work it into the
human body, it reappears dark blue.
not n black. Isn't it curious ? If the
vermilion is worked in heavily it leaves
q raised welt on the flesh | use great
caution about that, because it is an evil
dence of bad workmanship.
Did you ever put mans coat of
arms on his bodyf"
eyes, indeed. There is a young man
about here who has the seal of Virginia
on his breast. 1t covers his entire chest
and required two and a half hours to
work it under the skin. 1t is my master
piece. There is nothing like it in this
country"
"There are other branches of the art
are there not27
"Ies, l tattoo eggsfor Easter. l color
the eggs, and then carve away part of the
color on the shell, producing work like
canoes. / have a great many regular
orders for this kind of work. One family
on West Walnut street gives me a com
mission regularly every year for three
dozen eggs to be delivered on Easter
morning. | boil the eggs very hard, color
them, engrave them and then heat them
with dry steam just befone delivery. /
get one dollar each for the eggs and
could sell several hundred. But am
the only person know who has hand
steady enough to carve an egg shell.
Even / break one out of every three.
Several hours are required for each egg,
and the price is quite low enough when
you remember the accidents, for these
generally occur when the work is nearly