The following is a brief excerpt from Tattoo History: A Source Book, by Stephen G. Gilbert now available in print.

Tattoo History Source Book: U.S.A.

The most popular designs in traditional American tattooing evolved from the efforts of many artists who traded, copied swiped, and improved on each other's work. In this way they developed a set of stereotyped symbols which were inspired by the spirit of the times, and especially the by experiences of soldiers and sailors during both World Wars. Many of these designs represented courage, patriotism, defiance of death, and longing for family and loved ones left behind.

The earliest written records of American tattooing are found in ships' logs, letters and diaries written by seamen during the early part of the nineteenth century. In his memoirs of life on board a US. Navy frigate in the 1840's, Herman Melville reported that some of his shipmates "excelled in tattooing or pricking, as it's called in a man-of-war. Of these prickers, two had long been celebrated, in their way, as consummate masters of the art. Each had a small box full of tools and coloring matter, and they charged so high for their services that at the end of the cruise they were supposed to have cleared upward of $400. They would prick you to order a palm tree, an anchor, a crucifix, a lady, a lion, an eagle or anything else you might want. "

One of the first professional American tattoo artists was C. H. Fellowes, whose design book and tattooing instruments were discovered in 1966 by a Rhode Island antique dealer and are now in the collection of the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut. Fellowes left no other record of his life and art. A thorough search of nineteenth-century business directories failed to reveal his name, and it is probable that he followed the fleet and practiced his art on board ship and in various ports.

His book contains over a hundred designs in red and black, many of which are ambitious compositions featuring religious, patriotic and nautical themes. Certain of these are of special interest because they commemorate specific naval engagements which occurred during the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. One of the great naval battles of the Civil War is illustrated in a drawing which shows the northern warship "Kearsage" with guns blazing as a Southern vessel, the "Alabama", sinks in flames. According to contemporary accounts, the crew and officers of the "Kearsage" had stars tattooed on their foreheads to celebrate their victory over the "Alabama", which took place on June 19, 1864.