What is a Tattoo? A tattoo is a permanent coloration of the second layer of the dermis. Puncturing the skin and inserting non-toxic ink through a hypodermic needle produce it. The word Tattoo derives from a couple different roots. The first being, the Tahitian word “tatu” meaning, “to make a mark”. Another being the Dutch expression, “Doe Het Tap Toe” given by the continuous drum beating or rapping similar to the sounds an early tattooist made with the needle and mallet like hammer during the tattooing process. It is claimed that tattoos date back to 12,000 years B.C. From culture to culture, tattooing has had many purposes and is difficult to pin point its place on the time line.
Tattoos have popped up through out history as ritual art, pagan decoration, art to mark a rite of passage, and numerous others. Tattoos have always played an important role in tradition and ritual. Tribes would use certain marks to decipher rank or warrior status and for women, coming of age, marriage and skill. Tattoos were worn around the wrist and finger and were believed to ward off illness and plague. It was understood that an image of an animal on a male meant that he bore the spirit of that animal. I was also bel

The original birthplace of American style tattooing was in Chatham Square, New York City, this happening around the turn of the twentieth century. Many men taught themselves how to tattoo and began to teach their wives and eldest children. They would also tattoo their wives to show case their ability and create advertising for them and their shops. The tattoo industry was very competitive at this time and the artists struggled to capitalize on their work. Artists were very tight knit and scarcely taught anyone out side their clique for fear they would become competition. Most of the people who bore tattoos were sailors and military personnel. Than came World War II, this brought along an association of tattoos with juvenile delinquents and you basic tough guy bullies. The image and desire for tattoos was plummeting. In 1961, an outbreak of Hepatitis shut down the industry in many areas. Tattoos became illegal and were banned. A few years later, in the late 1960s, came the fun loving, rebellious age of the hippies. The flower child generation brought back the popularity of tattoos and gave a rebirth to this ancient art form.

In the late 1700’s, Captain Cook, a sailor and explorer, brought back from one of his explorations to Polynesia, a heavily tattooed man named Omai. Omai was seen through London as a side show freak though he was viewed as a noble warrior. He soon created quite a stir and many men and women wanted to have markings or tattoos of their own. This craze did not last long for the procedure at this day and age was still done by hand and was quite painful. Tattooing slowly died out until 1871, when Samuel O’Reilly patented the first electric tattoo machine. This model was based off Thomas E