The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-04-17
PICTURES On THEIR FLESH
Peculiar Fondness for Tattooing Dis.
played by the Criminal Glasses.
Statistics Of This Style of "Art Needlswork"
That Afford a Curious anc interest
ing Psychological Study.

'lkWU&MS every case has its peculiar
NHANN mark. as IL were. These tat
\YJlOS too etcbings are generally re-
~ ceived by their bearers at .
time which antedates their
~ advent into the world OF
crime. and would be erased
in nearly all cases if 1t
were possible for them to be. Among the
tramps and other doubtful characters who
generally crowd county jails. warehouses;
and police stations. are found the artisans
who vaccinate their fellows with pictures,
letters, signs. etc.. that 60 with them TO
their graves. and often materially aid in
the Identification of the persons wearing
them.
There 10 q superstition which governs
these people that seems to be stronger than
their cunning, and that Is q kin of fear
that they may at some time or other die
and be buried unidentified; at least this ar
gument generally prevails against their
opposition TO being tattooed. Among sail
ors this idea is perhaps more prevalent
than among men subject to the casualties
attending life on the land. Yet among the
hosts of refugees who crowd the Cadi's
court from day TO day very few are to be
found who do not " ear some mark upon
their skin by which they could be ideDti-
ned. OF course the regulation anchor is
generally seen on the lett forearm above
the wristband. as this is usually the ex-
tent of the artisans artistic capabilities.
Other cases are frequent. however, whore
the talent of the ~tattooer is spread in one
panorama across the shoulders of the
man III various colOrs. sometimes the
worst criminals are found to be literally
obelisks of letters and signs that mark the
different periods OF their careers.
According to the leisure and skill Of the
tattoOer. many human bodies are stained,
sometimes with u scenic effect that rivals
the best work of patent medicine artists.
The general run of tattoo work. however,
takes the forms Of vessels. and such other
marine. bric-a-brac AS il most familiar 80
the ARTIST Often the initials or even the
name of the persons sweetheart are pricked
luto his flesh. The practice of tattooing Is
frequently carried TO an extraordinary ex-
tent, twenty or thirty designs being oc-
casionally foundo on the same subject. Lom-
broso was the first to point out the full
biologicsl and physical significance of this
practice.
Alborghetti found Is per cent. OF the IN.
mates of the prison ct Bergamo tattooed.
Lombroso examined one hundred children
at the refOrmatOry at Turin. and found
forty of them tattooed. Among 235 other
youthful criminals he .found 80 per
cent. tattoOed. Among the Ordi-
nary pOuiatioD, tattooed children
are very rarely seen. Rossi found
twenty three tattooed among the 100 crlm-
male whom he had carefully observed.
LocassagDe. among SEQ convicted French
soldiers. found 40 per cent. tattooed. For
the sake OF comparison with the noncrim-
inal population. IL may be me ntioDed that
among 2. 73g soldiers of the Italian infantry
BarOffo fonnd only forty-one tattoOed-
that is. $50 per cent. The designs yarv IN
character. but many emblems are fire.
quently repeated. Tardien, out OF 100 de.
signs. found twenty relating to love.
twenty to war, eight TO religion. eight to
occupation and six TO Obscenity.
| DIR. Greaves. the medical officer of Derby
prison. observes that out of 555 persons adj
mitted TO that prison in three months,
forty-one forty men and one womanj
The tattooed individuals were chiefly
soldiers, with n few miners and
sailors. The favorite devices were flags,
| ships, anchors. female figures, bracelets
and initials. Tattoed inscriptions, as no.
ticed by Lacassagne, are frequently Oh ar
acteristic of the criminals msnta attitu lie.
Here are a few of the conImonest: Son of
Misfortune" mo Luck. death to I'm
faithful Women which probably de-
seconded from Jack the Ripper "venRe-
a~nce.""Son of Disgrace" Born Under an
Unlucky Star" Child OF joy" 1.-THE Past
Has Deceived Me-" etc. The favorite posi-
tiOD for tattoOlng. among the ordinary pop
ulation is the front of the forearm; TO a less
degree the shoulders. the chest or the fin
gers. The greater number of tattoOed IN
| dividuals are found among instructive
criminals and the fewest among swindlers
and ~fOrgers, the most intellectual class OF
criminals. There is evidence that crimi-
nails frequently refrain from tSttooing
themselves. moving that the marks are
valuable to police officers in their identifi-
cation.
1t appears that in Italy. at all events. 81 o
connection between tattoo marks anu
crime has been Of late reco gnized by the
common soldiers In 1s4S the soldiers e
the PIedmoDtese army consId cred tattooin q
a mark of ~vIrility. Recently. when Tom.
braso asked q soldier why he was not
tattooed, he replied: Because those are
the marks that lead to the ealIeys." and an
army doctor ASSURED him that tattoord
men were considered, q priori, as bad
soldiers. The causes that produce tattoo
ing are doubtless of q complex kind. Re-
ligion was formerly and Is still u chief
cause among some races. aud up to 1888
caused the practice to prevail at Bethie-
hem by the Christian pilgrlms, and il still
survives at LorettO.
OF iO2 tattooed criminals, thirty-one bore
religious emblems. Vengeance frequently
leads to 1t among criminals, and among
the feebler ones the spirit of imitation.
Idleness often explains il among prisoners,
shepherds and sailors. This cause doubt
less plays the chief part In Keeping up the
practice of tattooinR among the we'll
A London professor of the art. when asked
to what class of society his customers
chiefly belonged. replied: MOSTLY officers
In the army, bus civilians. too. i have tat
tooed many nOblemen. and also several la
dies. The latter go in chiefly for
alton on the wrist or cali. or have q garter
worked just below the knee" Vanity is
almost as powerful o cause among Grim.
inais as among savages. The more one ia
tattooed, /" it has been said. tho more one
is esteemed and feared by ones companions,
because it shows greater progress IN the
path of crime"
Higher emotions always play an impor.
tant part; recOllections of childhooo1i and the
memory of loved friends are thus record
ed. Lacassagne attributes considerable
Importance to Lattooinga as a species of her.
aldry. used by uneducated people. anal.
ogous to the banners and eeals of compa-
nies and corporations. Erotic passion Is a
very freauent-probably the most frequent
cause Of tattooing. All sorts of symbols
of love are very common. Tattooing Is OK.
ceedingly rare among women. Out of three
hundred women criminals once noticed,
only five were found to be tsttooed. Among
the insane tatto0ing does NOT seem to he
AT the workhouse. in this city. no sys-
tematic observations on the point have
been made nor any tabulated deductions
compiled. yet the superstition is that about
G per cent. of the thr0ng that pass through
that institution from month Co month are
tattooed In some ann The greater
=