The first time I saw a real one was on a doffer named Jimmy.
I was probably about eighteen years old at the time and had my first full time job. The textile industry was the most common type of manufacturing where I lived. My job title was"material allocator". I moved bobbins of yarn from one place to another. One of the jobs in the manufacturing plant I worked in was that of a spinning frame doffer. A spinning frame doffer removed bobbins of yarn from the spinning frames. Doffers were usually relatively small thin men, but Jimmy was different. He was short and muscular. He looked sorta like "Mr. Clean" but was only partially bald. He had one, or rather several, tattoos. On one of his arms, which looked as though it had come from a box of Arm and Hammer baking soda, was tattooed "Mom". The other arm was the most interesting, however. At his shoulder was tattooed "Jimmy loves". Under that were three black rectangles. Beneath the bottom most rectangle was tattooed "Kathie". The three rectangles covered the girlfriends that preceded Kathie. There was another guy there with a tattoo, but I didn't know him very well. He worked on the loading dock and didn't have much to do with other folks. I was in the canteen once and happened to notice some crude writing and a skull and crossbones on his forearm. I asked someone about it, and they said he was a tough guy and had been in Federal prison. They said they were called jailhouse tattoos.
When I was in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam war I saw a lot of tattoos on sailors. Actually, the first Navy tattoo I saw was while I was in boot camp. We all showered together there, and I could not help but notice this one particular tattoo. This sailor from North Carolina, whom some said had been a carnival worker, had this tattoo of a rabbit running up his back. I'll let you figure out where the rabbit hole was. Once aboard ship I found out how sailors had spread tattooing throughout the world. Although there have been tattoos found on the remains of humans from 5,300 years ago, British sailors, some of Captain Cook's, brought the idea back to Europe after visiting the South Seas. The process was simple. The skin was pierced or cut and ink was rubbed into the incision.* After the wound healed the ink was visible through the skin. The men of the sea are also responsible for myths and superstitions attached to certain images tattooed on their bodies. Here are a few of the betterknown ones.
I was probably about eighteen years old at the time and had my first full time job. The textile industry was the most common type of manufacturing where I lived. My job title was"material allocator". I moved bobbins of yarn from one place to another. One of the jobs in the manufacturing plant I worked in was that of a spinning frame doffer. A spinning frame doffer removed bobbins of yarn from the spinning frames. Doffers were usually relatively small thin men, but Jimmy was different. He was short and muscular. He looked sorta like "Mr. Clean" but was only partially bald. He had one, or rather several, tattoos. On one of his arms, which looked as though it had come from a box of Arm and Hammer baking soda, was tattooed "Mom". The other arm was the most interesting, however. At his shoulder was tattooed "Jimmy loves". Under that were three black rectangles. Beneath the bottom most rectangle was tattooed "Kathie". The three rectangles covered the girlfriends that preceded Kathie. There was another guy there with a tattoo, but I didn't know him very well. He worked on the loading dock and didn't have much to do with other folks. I was in the canteen once and happened to notice some crude writing and a skull and crossbones on his forearm. I asked someone about it, and they said he was a tough guy and had been in Federal prison. They said they were called jailhouse tattoos.
When I was in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam war I saw a lot of tattoos on sailors. Actually, the first Navy tattoo I saw was while I was in boot camp. We all showered together there, and I could not help but notice this one particular tattoo. This sailor from North Carolina, whom some said had been a carnival worker, had this tattoo of a rabbit running up his back. I'll let you figure out where the rabbit hole was. Once aboard ship I found out how sailors had spread tattooing throughout the world. Although there have been tattoos found on the remains of humans from 5,300 years ago, British sailors, some of Captain Cook's, brought the idea back to Europe after visiting the South Seas. The process was simple. The skin was pierced or cut and ink was rubbed into the incision.* After the wound healed the ink was visible through the skin. The men of the sea are also responsible for myths and superstitions attached to certain images tattooed on their bodies. Here are a few of the betterknown ones.
- Swallows--for good luck
- Turtle--means the sailor has crossed the Equator
- Pigs or roosters --to keep from drowning
- Anchor--means the sailor has crossed the Atlantic Ocean
- Golden Eagle--means a sailor has crossed the International Date Line
- Christian crosses on the soles of feet --to ward off sharks
- Five-pointed stars --to prevent getting lost at sea
When I was a sailor I saw a number of these and became familiar with the superstitions attached to some of them. Sailors seemed to have an affinity for tattoos of the nude female form. I never found out what superstition was attached to these. I do remember one sailor getting his nude female tattoos removed in order for some young lady to accept his hand in marriage. However, I did see my first tattoo on a female form in the Philippine Islands. She had "sweet" and "sour" tattooed on her upper body. I'm sure you can figure out what parts of her anatomy had these labels My shipmates on the Bon Homme Richard preferred two rather unique tattoos. They favored either "US PRIME", like the blue stamps on Bonnie Dick steak (roast beef), or lip prints. Either of these were visible through a sailor's white Cracker Jack pants. I was told these tatts were chick magnets. Of course to get a tattoo a person must be willing to withstand a certain amount of pain. But there are specific libations that have a dulling effect during the application of tattoos. Maybe that explains these lines in a Jimmy Buffett song.
"It's a real beauty,
a Mexican cutie,
and how it got there
I haven't a clue!"
The modern twin-coil electromagnetic tattoo needle was patented in 1891 by Samuel O'Riley, an Irish-American tattooist working out of a barber's shop in New York City. The tiny needles on a modern tattoo device puncture the skin over 150 times per second. There can be as few as three or as many as 15 needles puncturing the skin simultaneously.
Tattoos are extremely popular now. According to a 2008 survey 40% of those Americans aged 26-40 had tattoos.
Personally, I've never gotten a tattoo. I'm quite surprised that I did not get one while in the service. Perhaps I dream too much of Ray Bradbury's Illustrated Man.
Personally, I've never gotten a tattoo. I'm quite surprised that I did not get one while in the service. Perhaps I dream too much of Ray Bradbury's Illustrated Man.
* The native people of New Zealand are said to use gunpowder instead of ink. I, however, find this difficult to believe, because the Maoris were tattooed when Cook first saw them, and he introduced them to gunpowder.
No comments:
Post a Comment
What do you think of this post?