when was the first tattoo machine invented
nolimitpictures | Getty Images. The electric tattooing machine was officially patented on Dec. 8th 1891 by a New York tattoo artist named Samuel O'Reilly. But even OâReilly would be the first to admit that his invention was really an adaptation of a machine invented by Thomas Edison âthe Autographic Printing Pen.âReillyâs tattoo machine worked by using a hollow needle filled with permanent ink. An electric motor powered the needle in and out of the skin at a rate of up to 50 punctures per second.