The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1898-01-27
Ar tn or SKIN WRITING

ART OF SKIN WITHIN 6.
Impressions Made ON the Skin by q
Simple Process.
One of the most unique series Of ex-
periments is being conducted at the
present time in producing pictorial
representations in the human skin.
These are not produced by tattooing OF
any Kindred method, but by simple
tracing on the surface of the skin by
some hard, blunt instrument. A PEN
Gil, the end of pen, the tip of the
finger nail or. even match is sufficient
to produce marks that are as clearly
defined and legible as though burned.
into the flesh with caustic. A white
welt is raised where the Lines were
traced and figures or inscriptions cas-
lily outlined. % IT. 80 r..
It is but the work of few seconds,
too, the figure raising in the space of
five or ten minutes and remaining
clearly marked for time varying from
an hour.to "a hours, according to the
nature and condition Of the skin of the
subject2operated upon.#
To produce the best results highly
nervous organism is the better. The
impression isproduced by an irritation
of the delicate nerves beneath the sur
face OF the derma. For this reason the
best place on which to produce an i'm
preston is On the back between the
shoulders, although it is possible to
draw rough figures or print word or
two on the breast and neck, and even
on the arms and face. Indeed, in one or
two cases the roof of the mouth has
even been susceptible to the process. f.,
Much amusement and entertainment
can be aroused by practicing the phe-
nomena, its mystery being deep to the
oninitiated in spite Of it's simplicity.
The process was first discovered in
1895, when, at the Cleveland Medical
society, at Cleveland, a man named John
Miller was brought before the society
and operated upon. His skin was high
~ sensitive and impressions drawn
upon it were visible in a remarkably
short time. He excited considerable at
tentlon at the time, both among the
medical procession and among others,
attaining considerable notorietyz as the
photographic skin man." His case was
believed to be unique, until by accident
another was discovered, and the expert
mentation carried further It was
found that almost every skin was more
or less susceptible and thatimpressions
were retained various lengths of time,
dependent upon the nervous tension of
the patient.
This set the medical men to thinking.
and the psychological reason mentioned
above was deduce;l as the result of their
experiments.
line impressions were produced by a
match. The work was lightly laid on
and few minutes after the tracing a
distinct swelling was noticeable. The
skin then turned a bright red, save
where the match had touched it, and
the white welt stood out along it's path.
The color then gradually died until Just
faint tracing was left on either side of
the figure traced.
After half hour or so the tracing be-
gan to fade away in the stronger organ
isms and gradually subsidized until all
evidence of it was gone at the end of an
hours time. With nervous subjects the
fading was slower, and when tried upon
patients suffering from hysteria or
| similar troubles it remained for an en-
tire day.
The field was widened by expert
mentation on animals. It was found
that the horse was particularly sus-
ceptible. Tracings were readily made
on his TANKS, the impressions remain
ing for great length of time. Dogs,
cats, hares, deer and other similarly
organized animals were also tried, and
showed clearly the outlines of the fig
ures.
AT first, during the early stages of the
discovery, the practice was utilized by
INSCRIPTIONS persons to material gain.
Some appeared as fakirs in museums,
and were regarded as prodigies. 'Trac-
ings were made on the various parts of
their bodies of nature calculated to
arouse the superstitious fancies of the
public, and a big trade was done in the
practice:
Another form which the traffic took
was this: A poor beggar, seeking to
gain admission to some hospital where
he might gain food and shelter for a
period of time would produce accurate
reproductions of cutaneous diseases
and eruptions with the open end of a
penholder or a key. This was easy, and
he gained admittance to charity wards,
where he was allowed to remain for a
week or fortnight until discharged
cured. One sharp fellow became so ex-
pert: that he reproduced various forms
Of eruptions successfully and gained
admittance to dozen hospitals before
! discovered.
1t is probable that this is analogous
to the famous "stigmatizations"o of the
middle ages. This-term was applied to
persons bearing tattooed marks or
brands. and they were supposed to bear
the mark of the devil. The sign of the
devil was hand, underneath which was
cross. Those who were supposed to
be infested by an evil spirit were tried
in this way. If the mark was raised on
their backs. they were pitilessly con-
demned to the stake or some similar
frightful death.
! 1t lis also probable that much Of re-
| igious fanaticism of the latter CEN
turtles was produced by some similar
phenomena. st" Francis of Assist, who
was meditating on the sufferings of
Christ, was branded by the marks OF
| the wounds inflicted unon him on his