ART OF TATTOOING.
THE WORK OE A CRAFTSMAN
EMBLEMS OF LOVE AND WAR. Love and war are the mainsprings ol the tattooer's curioas traue —or ait, acs tie pie.ers to call it. in ere was a big uuo mat tli-e tune of the Bon; War, uiien lie was besieged Uy warriors, many ol them olticer.%, who wanteu regimen cai crests as means oi identilicaliun should they iali m action. lie nad another wave ol prosperity m the world War (declares L.D., m tne Manchester Guardian). Now it is Cupid -s how that provides fiis bread and ciieese and pickles. Curious stones nl lashion exist here and thete in the poorer parts of I,ondon. w liere tattooing is the vogue
among factory girls and llreir swains. It is among thrse folk more than the young sadoimen that the tatiuoer works ins queer fowl designs —dragons and oats lor the .gins. The girls incline, too. to swastikas and mystifying talisman io emblems that promise good luck to the superstitions. Ami why not? Woman's life is so largely a matter ol luck. 'Li ■/. realises that the turn of fortune's wheel may bring her a drunken husband who heats her or a sturdy greengrocer with a nice little horse ami trap, or a lonely, old ago as a snaw led. crone haw king matches, w ithout. her Inn ing had any say at all in the mailer. Why not propitiate the gods Oi In k. indeed! Jt is a common practice for young men and maidens, winle courting to have each other's initials tattoed on the arm. As not every love affair avoids the rocks in its path an awkward situation appears when an engagemmt is broken off. Off with the old love ami on with the new is not so simple wnen Bessie is hound to disc ;ver Nellie's name w ritten indelibly over two overlapping hearts the very first hot day, when every real iellow in the “sharrybeng” takes off his coat and rolls up lus sleeves. Timorous and unenterprising swains might well, be excused lor renouncing any further thoughts of matrimony rather than face the awful day of doom when the existence of a former flame would be inexorably given—unless, of course, another Nellie can he found to fill the bill.
But the tuttooor, stout fellow, is equal, to the occasion. Blighted troths no less than plighted troths bring grist to his mill. Indeed, he leaves his client in no suspenee. He announces as he picks up his little electric bottle that if her '‘bloke” (or his ‘(young lady”—observe the difference; there are, one gathers, iiq female “blokes”) gives her “the chuck,” he is able and willing to delete his despicable jiame. How are these engaged couples thus surgically divorced? it is most interesting to watch the operation. The name or initials are deftly touched up here and there until, lo and behold they have become a writhing dragon, u. bouquet of flowers, or even —a favourite and unconsciously appropriate emblem for blotting out the fickle swain—a butterfly perched on a sprig of may. Sometimes a girl from the pickle factory conies back again and again for scenic alterations, acquiring in the course of a. busy winter an arm like a. Maori chieftainess. and. oddly enough great kudos among the “blokes.” Diana the Huntress finds conquests easy until, lulled' into a false security by the number of his predecessors who have escaped, the victim finds, his head in tile halter —and the tattooer loses two clients.
Tattooer and their conversation amuse me. I have the honour of an acquaintanceship with several. /Their outlook is a queer blond of sincerity and humbug. They have the understanding, sympathy, and toleration of the elderly chemist, combined with the half-con-scious “ballyooism” of the showman at the fair. You would be surprised at the variety of eccentrics, often from bourgeois and fashionable quarters of town, who ferret out their abode in the main streets to gratify a whim. One of my friends was visited bv a tradesman, who insisted on having a portrait of the late King Edward tattooed on his bald head as a bold expression of the esteem in which he held that monarch. A series of photographs shows the operation at different stages. In vaiii, however, was he importuned by another man who demanded—in all sobriety and proffering spot cash—to be tattooed all over, from face to toes.: He feared- a subsequent lerantation and a suit for heavy damages. Another craftsman of thp needle did the job. though. A steady demand exists for thistles among Scottish soldiers, npparent'.y. Many of them. lam assured, have it worked at the hack of the knots
Numbers of persons exist in our unsuspecting midst who cannot be happy until tliev have had coiled snakes tattooed writhing round thou - arms. The first young woman to apply for a taxidriver's license in London —this was many years ago—had snakes round he*' arms and a fierce tiger worked on her left shoulder. Surely a tank rathe n than a taxi would he a safe’- sphere ol activity for young persons like that.
The dragon is the tattooer’s main standhv when the client has no equal special design in mind. There is the stock dragon for the shallow of purse, but if you have the time. ■ the money, and the fortitude, fire-belching, iguanahacked. sabre-funged. bcu-olnwed dragons outdragoniug the most hair-raising ohefs-cl-oenvre of Pekin's hereditary drngonors can lie nunctured across your chest and shoulders.
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Bibliographic details
Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 11 February 1925, Page 9
Word Count
912ART OF TATTOOING. Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 11 February 1925, Page 9
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