Circus Tattoos: The History of Tattoos in Professional Success

Thursday 12th of March 2009 06:39:24 PM [Add To This Article]

In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, tattooing was not at all common, but it was far from unheard of. Explorers had been encountering it for years among the “savages” that comprised the indigenous tribes of various “uncivilized” areas of the world, and many traders and fortune hunters – sailors in particular – ultimately returned to their native lands sporting tattooed souvenirs of their adventures. However, the arena in which tattooing was most directly linked to acclaim and success at this time in history was definitely the circus. Tattooing was, and still is, an issue of extremes when it comes to professional success. Then and now, one’s tattoos must be extremely beautiful, incredibly horrifying or excessively freakish in order to make a profession out of being tattooed. However, in earlier centuries, there were far more fortunes to be made because it was easier to shock with tattoos then than it is to do so in modern times.

The role of that tattoo in the carnival, circus or “freak” show started in 1804 with John Baptiste Cabri. He was a carnival performer who was tattooed nearly all over his body with [!--|product|tribal|tribal tattoos--] from his overseas adventures and displayed his artwork as part of various carnivals for a fee. Sometimes, he would even get new tattoos as part of the act, since this mysterious and somewhat “savage” art was not particularly well known or well understood at the time. Cabri experienced both ends of fame during his lifetime, spending the early part of his career in high acclaim because of his unique body art, but ending his life in poverty when his act was replaced with a novelty act comprised of trained dogs. This was highly characteristic of most tattooed artists’ careers, as they relied on their novelty to sell themselves and were compelled to constantly reinvent themselves – even when they had run out of canvas space. During the same time period, another popular artist, John Rutherford, captured the interests of English audiences. His tattoo act had a twist: he was a story teller as well as simply being tattooed. Rutherford claimed to have been captured by the Maoris – the originators of today’s tribal tattoo designs – and to have participated in many of their savage and secret rituals, some of which resulted in his extensive tattoos. Rutherford kept audience attention as much with his stories, which could vary from show to show, as with the proof of his tales, his extensive tribal tattoos.

In a similar manner, P.T. Barnum, who ultimately founded Barnum and Bailey’s Circus, an act that is still touring today as a major franchise operation, got a great deal of mileage and profit out of his tattooed man, an adventurer names James F. O’Connell. O’Connell claimed to have been captured by a somewhat vague band of savages who forced him to submit to tattooing by a clan of voluptuous virgin tattoo artists. O’Connell’s story ultimately led to him wedding one of these seductive artists and living in harmony with these savages for some time before returning to civilization to report on his adventures. O’Connell’s act, which was highly risqué in content as well as being controversial because of his many tattoos, maintained a high popularity as much for the storytelling and adventure aspect as for the tattoo designs themselves.

Acts like O’Connell’s ultimately popularized the tattooed man (or woman) in every carnival and showmanship arena. Aspiring performers began including various aspects of their tattooing in their act itself, or even got tattoos for the sole purpose of entering the performance arena. Prince Constantine, a famous tattooed man, deliberately tattooed highly artistic and beautiful designs all over his body in the space of three months. Much of his appeal stemmed from his extreme aesthetic statement and the fact that he had to be held down screaming in pain for three hours a day for three months in order to get his artwork completed so he could hit the show circuit. Similarly, La Belle Irene, one of the first tattooed women in carnival history, made her name largely by being female and tattooed in a “feminine” way, with scroll tattoos, heart tattoos, cupid tattoos and flower tattoos. She was tattooed literally from head to foot, and her novelty lay in the nature of her gender and her “girly” artwork.

As carnivals evolved and more and more people began getting tattoos, the tattooed men and women of these shows found that they had to work harder to maintain their show-stopping appeal and their individuality. They often combined their artwork with other skills, such as sword swallowing or eating fire, in order to increase their public appeal. Some also became immensely fat in order to expand the canvas and make themselves physically unusual in more than one aspect. This “multi-tasking” trend has continued even today. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the art of tattooing has become so popular that a tattoo or even full body work is not necessarily enough to make one stand out in a professional arena. (Also, “freak shows” are much less socially acceptable today than they were in centuries past). However, it is still possible to make a living from your body art if you are dedicated enough to your profession. Tattooed individuals like the Enigma, who is covered with puzzle piece tattoos and also sports implanted, permanent horns and filed teeth among other body alterations, and his former wife Katzen, a tattoo artist with tiger stripes and permanent cat’s whiskers, have made entire careers out of public appearances and performances. However, they have to stage their own circus, since the role of the tattooed man in the carnival has faded out nearly completely in the twenty-first century.