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Labels: bearded, tattoos, women

The Great Captain Costentenus is often regarded as the first tattooed man to be exhibited in the United States. That, however, is not true. The first tattooed man is believed to have been James F. O’Connel. Evidence indicates that O’Connel appeared at Barnum’s American Museum in 1842 and Constentenus didn’t appear until the 1870’s. O’Connel was also the first tattooed man to write and publish his embellished origin, as an extra source of income, under the title ‘The Life and Adventures of James F. O’Connel, The Tattooed Man’.

While Constentenus was not the first, he was by far the most remarkable tattooed man of the 1800’s. In fact, he was likely the most heavily tattooed man in the world during that century. Even today, the magnitude of his tattoo coverage remains rather remarkable. The Captain was the first man to display a full body tattoo with his face, scalp, genitals and finger webbing all tattooed. The only part of his body not tattooed were the soles of his feet.

The designs were Burmese in origin, blue and red in color and depicted mostly animals native to Burma and eastern mythology.

Little is known of Constentenus, rumor has it that he was born in Albania in 1836, and it is believed that he tattooed himself for the sole purpose of exhibition. Exactly who did the work is unknown. His origin story involves the same ‘kidnapped and forcibly tattooed by island natives’ story that was par for the tales told by his European contemporaries and it was, of course, completely false. The same story alleged that Captain Costentenus was actually an Albanian prince.

The person, or persons, who actually did the tattoo work were masters of their craft as the quality of his tattoos were the most elaborate ever exhibited at that point. As a result, Constentenus enthralled doctors and skin specialists and he was even extensively studied by the University of Vienna on several occasions.

In America, Constentenus was exhibited by Great Farini and P. T. Barnum and he proved to be a very successful attraction. He eventually commanded a weekly base salary of $1000, which he further augmented with sales of his mostly fictional biography.

At the time of his death he was a wealthy man. According to legend he willed half of his fortune to the Greek Church of London. The other half of his fortune he divided amongst his fellow showmen and peers.

image: Full color pitch card of Captain Costentenus.

Labels: tattoos

The procurement of a Maori Tattoo was truly an epic ordeal. No machines were used in producing the unique designs rather a bone chisel with either with a serrated or an extremely sharp and straight edge was used to carve canals into the skin. Following that, a chisel was dipped into a sooty type pigment such as burnt Kauri gum or burnt vegetable caterpillars, the recipe varied from tribe to tribe, and then tapped into the skin.

While the facial tattooing is well known, the North Auckland warriors also tattooed swirling double spirals into both buttocks, down their legs to the knee.
It was an extremely painful and long process but all high-ranking Maori were tattooed, beginning at puberty. Those who went without tattoos were seen as persons of no social status.

Women were also tattooed though not as extensively as the men. The chin moko was always the most popular, and continued to be practiced even into the 1970’s.

Read more about Maori Tattooing.

image:Maori Rangi (chief) with full face moko, circa 1915.

Labels: ethnic, history, tattoos

Nora Hildebrandt was America’s first professional tattooed lady. Her place in history is due mostly to the fact that her father, German born Martin Hildebrandt, was America’s first professional tattoo artist. Nora stood in as a canvas for her father when he was not tattooing sailors and soldiers from both sides of the Civil War.

Labels: tattoos, women

The Great Omi was one of the most popular tattooed men of all time. He was primitively tattooed over much of his body including his head and face, which was tattooed in bold black zebra-like stripes. Sometimes referred to as the ‘The Zebra Man’, Horace Ridler - the man who would become The Great Omi - was born in Surrey, England around 1892 to a wealthy family. He served twice in the British Army as a commissioned officer but left the military after the First World War with the rank of major.

Ridler may have gotten some tattoos during his many years in the British Army, but in 1922, in some financial trouble, Ridler decided that show business was the key to fame and fortune. He approached an unnamed tattooist who claimed to be Chinese and started turning himself into a tattoo attraction. This early tattooing was extremely rather crude, but Ridler was able to make a modest living at music hall and fairgrounds

But Horace Ridler had bigger plans and in1927 he began to visit London's famed tattooist - George Burchett - with a plan that would transform him into the greatest modern tattoo attraction in the world. After much discussion and written approval from both Horace and his wife Gladys, Burchett began to work on Ridler.

The design of the wide black stripes would cover his old work and, by Burchett's account, 150 hours later Horace Ridler became The Great Omi. As soon as the tattoo work was completed the job offers rolled in from Bertram Mills Circus, Robert Ripley's "Believe It Or Not", Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus and the Bellevue Circus. Gladys Ridler worked with her husband and became the Omette, introducing the Great Omi to the audiences of the world.

In homage to the tattooed workers who came before him, Omi concocted an elaborate back story to explain his appearance and claimed he had been forcibly tattooed by New Guinea savages. The story really boosted his popularity and he soon became one of the highest paid circus performers of hi time.

As the years wore on the Omi's appearance became more and more outrageous as did his personality. He took to wearing lipstick and nail polish and signed his pitch cards, ‘the Barbaric Beauty’. Despite his appearance, "underneath it all, I'm just an ordinary man," he insisted shortly before his death in 1969.

Labels: made, tattoos

Congenital marvels are relatively rare and represent less than 3% of total human population. Also, more than 80% of those born will abnormal conditions die before they reach 3 months.

It is for this reason that the sideshow has a great number of what are commonly referred to as ‘made freaks’. This category includes such sideshow staples as tattooed men and women, fat men and women, and geeks.

The first recorded example of a tattooed man on exhibit is in 1691. Prince Giolo, an apparent island slave was put on display in England by one William Dampier. The exhibit created a huge sensation in England but was short lived as Giolo contracted small pox and died shortly after arriving from the Philippines.

It wasn’t until Russian explorer George H. von Langsdorff discovered a French deserter named Jean Baptiste Cabri 1804 that the tattooed man became popularized in sideshow. Cabri had married a native woman and been extensively tattooed. He returned with the Russian to Moscow where he launched a theatrical career and later toured Europe. The bulk of his showcase consisted of his regaling audiences with exaggerated tales of his adventures and a brief reveal of his tattooed body.

Cabri was soon followed by another tattooed man named John Rutherford in 1828. Rutherford became the first professional tattooed Englishman after returning to Bristol following a stint in New Zealand. Rutherford was heavily covered in Maori tattoos and furthered the tradition begun by Cabri by spinning greatly exaggerated tales his of alleged shipwreck, abduction, and eventual acceptance by the natives.

The first tattooed person to be exhibited in the United States is believed to have been James F. O’Connel. O’Connel appeared at Barnum’s American Museum in 1842 and he told tales similar to those of Cabri and Rutherford. He also became the first to write and publish his tales, as an extra source of income, under the title ‘The Life and Adventures of James F. O’Connel, the Tattooed Man. In 1873, O’Connel was succeeded by Prince Constantine in Barnum’s show. Constantine was a Greek man also known as Alexandrinos Constentenus and, perhaps most famously, Captain Constentenus. He was very likely the most successful tattooed exhibit of the era making a base salary of $1000 a week in addition to a tidy sum from his own book sales. The reason for his popularity likely had a lot to do with the extensive nature of his tattoo work. He was the first person to completely tattoo his body for the soul purpose of being an exhibit. As a result, the quality of his body work was simply remarkable.

The tattooed woman was, by far, a much more popular and profitable exhibit for promoters and performers. In an era where female skin was just not seen, by dropping a dime to view a tattooed lady, men were able to gawk and a whole lot of skin. It is for this reason that the tattooed ladies were often the highest paid performers in the sideshow.

Today, the ante has been upped. Modern tattooed men often tattoo with a theme in mind and modify their body beyond colored ink under the skin. Split tongues, ear pointing and dermal implants are the price modern made marvels pay to be a part of sideshow history.

Adapted from an article by Erik Sprague - The Lizardman - found on BMEzine.com

Labels: history, made, tattoos