THE HISTORY
TATTOOING
OF AMERICAN TRADITIONAL
O
ften pursued by those wishing to
express themselves as different, worn
as a badge of rebellion and proudly
marking men and women who identify with an
‘outsider’ label, ironically, getting a tattoo might
just be the most traditional and mainstream
thing someone might ever do.
After a dark period of disapproval and
condemning of the tattoo arts, including a
complete ban of any tattooing in Massachusetts
from 1962 to 2000, it seems like the incredible
history of the tattoo has been all but forgotten.
From criminals to English kings, from ancient
Egyptian, Celts, travelling circus performers to
military officers, its not uncommon to feel drawn
to tattoo culture. Like music, it spans the human
timeline entirely - as far back as a mummified
man named Otzi found frozen since 3,300 BCE
on the Italian/Austrian border, peppered with
57 ancient tattoos. As tattooing becomes more
obvious and accepted in mainstream culture, it
is more and more likely you might encounter a
police officer with a tiger neck jam, or a suburban
mother with full sleeves - and while every tattoo
can be extremely personal to the wearer (or just
be a super sweet dragon that looked rad as hell )