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 Edison's invention of the electric pen. The design was worked out through out the years to better suit the needs of that particular artist at the time. .
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.
Tattoos bring out the prejudice in most people. Many people have bought into the myth that tattoos were and are the marks of lower class, morally challenged, or criminals. As the years began to pass, we began to see body art in the limelight. Models, Movie stars and Rock stars are now adorned and are saying that is ok to be permanently decorated. There are still many out there that associate body art with immoral character, but the numbers have significantly decreased.
