I went down quite the rabbit hole today beginning with this 1908 article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, marveling at a new procedure offered in Australia.
The Post-Dispatch was sufficiently intrigued to devote a whole article to this tattoo artist. Curiously, they do not name the artist nor his establishment. Later, for reasons I’ll share, I wondered if this story was true.
“Australia’s chief professor in the art of tattooing is a Scotchman who has an extensive practice in a suburb of Melbourne. The walls of his dwelling are covered with designs suggestive of a New Guinea headman’s hut. Crawling and flying dragons career round the room; the serpents coil in treacherous knots or spring up at gaudy butterflies. Lions plunge wildly at thistles, boa constrictors crunch striped tigers in their folds. American eagles pursue deer and flamingoes.”
I realize the paper is trying to give us an idea of the different options available but has anyone ever gotten a tattoo of an eagle pursuing a flamingo? The article explained the artist got the idea of blush tattoos after noticing how hard women tried to recreate the look of a natural blush with cosmetics.
Victorian ladies liked a rosy bloom but makeup was the art of the harlot. Rouge wasn’t respectable but it turns out, there’s no shortage of recipes for wholesome concoctions you can make in your kitchen to obtain a nice glow.
A 1910 publication called Health and Beauty Hints by Margaret Mixter offered several recipes for homemade blush. One consisted of English mustard (no Grey Poupon, s’il vous plâit), a teaspoon of flour, and “enough glycerine to form a sticky mess.” Apply the paste to the cheeks and wash it off as soon as it begins to smart. Leaving it on too long will cause blistering. Rubbing in a few drops of glycerine will prevent irritation. Another recipe called for squeezing the juice from beets, mixing it with starch or rice powder, and setting it in the sun to dry.
But if you didn’t want to bother with English mustard and beets, there was this man in Melbourne who would tattoo blush on your cheeks. It was a popular service. “The lady has little to explain when she orders natural blushes or rosy cheeks. It seems there is a considerable demand.”
The article veered into other tattoo-related topics. “Sailors tattoo from many motives which not the least are tradition, custom, and identification if found drowned.” It’s true that bodies are frequently identified by scars and tattoos. But do sailors really get tattoos just as a convenience to medical examiners in case they’re drowned?
The article went on: “Some men, it is believed, actually get tattooed out of sheer bravado so that they can pose as sailors.” At this point I began to suspect the article’s veracity. Who believes that men get tattoos so they can pose as sailors? For what purpose? Though I’m skeptical of this claim, my investigation did turn up evidence of at least one potential imposter masquerading as a sailor.
Small boy in a sailor suit yawning (1909). LOC.
The tattoo artist said “as to the part to be tattooed, the advice of the operator is usually taken. Women almost invariably request some spot under the shoulder-strap.” Don’t people know which part of their body they want tattooed? I’m surprised the tattoo artist’s suggestions were usually taken.
The last part of the article covered time and cost but didn’t mention the blush tattoos. “A simple flag can be accomplished in three or four minutes. A heart with a girl’s face in it will smile at you in five.” The article didn’t say how long the eagle/flamingo tattoo took but wouldn’t you feel uneasy if you got a tattoo and it was done in five minutes? This artist did have one specialty that required more time: “A large boa constrictor, guaranteed seven feet long, starting at your big toe and coiling up your leg until, with open fangs and glaring eyes, it catches a harmless, gorgeous butterfly on your hip, can be secured for $25 and requires 19 hours for completion.”
As part of my research on this important topic, I learned blush tattooing is a current trend. People mistakenly call it a new trend, being unaware of the Melbourne pioneer in this field. According to one Australian spa, Parlour Dala, “cheek tint tattoo is a new semi-permanent cosmetic tattoo designed to replenish the face, restore colour, and reduce dullness.” These tattoos eliminate the need for daily make-up and “have that ‘Clean Girl’ aesthetic.”
If you’re in the market for a blush tattoo, the procedure takes 90 minutes and results last up to three years. The cost is $500, not inclusive of necessary touch-ups.
After giving investigatory journalism a chance, I feel that my calling is more in the True Crime realm after all! On a related note, I recently wrote a LinkedIn article about republishing my books. It doesn’t belong on Old Spirituals but if you’d like to check it out, you can read it here.
old spirituals 
Putting a tattoo on the human body is like putting a bumper sticker on a Ferrari . . . . except more permanent.
Today, there is a desire to have “eyebrows” tattooed. That makes sense if the person suffers from alopecia universalis. Unfortunately, the tattooed eyebrows are discernible.
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Ha! That’s true. I have a friend who is a beautiful woman and in college, she got a large tattoo of a hand with an eye in it — the eye of Fatima. When her dad saw it, he nearly fainted. She got an earful…and I think she was secretly glad to have it lasered off.
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I believe it is called “Hamsa” in the Middle East and is supposed to be a defense against the “Evil Eye.” The “Cornicello,” a.k.a. “The Italian Horn”, is also a talisman worn as a defense against the “Evil Eye.” Can’t say I have seen a “Cornicello” tattoo on an Italian. It is usually a gold horn on a gold chain, as I have worn for many decades.
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My friend Sal (Salvatore) had a cornicello necklace! 🙂 much better than a tattoo
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I don’t care for tattoos. Permanent makeup has been around for a while. Having eyeliner and eyeshadow in tattoo form scares me to death! I’m allergic to every eye makeup on earth, but I’ll just go without. What if I might be allergic to the ink???? Wasn’t it Scarlett O’Hara that pinched her cheeks for blush? That’s much safer.
That little boy in the sailor suit is so precious!!!
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That’s right ! Scarlett pinched her cheeks and bit her lips to make them red! I also fear permanent makeup… though I do know some women who have had it done and it looks nice on them. I’m too fickle for tattoos in general!
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I also am allergic to most makeup. I briefly flirted with the idea of tattoo makeup but was worried if I was creating a whole new problem if I became allergic to the ink. My friend had eyeliner tattooed. Her eyes were crusty gross looking for weeks. But after 6 months she looked great. Ahhh to each their own.
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It does sound intriguing but I’m vain and I don’t think I’d trust anyone to do it for me. I have all kinds of absurd worries. What if they mess up? What if their hands shook? Or what if I just got tired of it?
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I wonder how the cheek tattoos turned out… if we can’t make permanent makeup look completely natural today imagine how it looked 115 years ago!
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Good question! How did the ladies of Melbourne vet this tattoo artist before allowing him to tattoo their face? I’m remembering some of my middle school attempts at wearing makeup. Not being able to wash it off would be horrible!
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Makeup styles change every few years. The eyeliner of the 60’s is back!
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I love that eye makeup! I would look like a raccoon if I attempted it but I love it! Agatha Christie sure didn’t like it though. She gives some blistering descriptions of girls’ appearance in the 1960s!
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I was a teenager in the 60’s, but I didn’t wear the eyeliner or shadow to the extreme. It was pretty if not too dark or thick. BTW, I turned 16 the week President Kennedy was assassinated. I think Agatha would have approved of my makeup. Lol
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The most famous murder in our country’s history! Maybe the defining murder of the century. I’m curious if you think Oswald acted alone or if he was involved at all but no worries if you’d rather not answer that!
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Oswald tried but his bullets did not hit Kennedy in the head. A recent documentary provides convincing evidence that the Secret Service Agent who climbed onto the back of the President’s limo, carrying an automatic weapon, accidentally discharged his weapon. The Secret Service and the Government covered it up. For example, the bullet discovered at the hospital, seen by several people, disappeared.
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I haven’t seen that one! I’d like to. Do you recall the name of the documentary?
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As I recall, it is titled “Mortal Error: The Shot That Killed JFK.” I may have watched it on Amazon Prime months ago. Frankly, it is very convincing. There is also a book by the same title.
Another book, “JFK The Smoking Gun,” also details facts and arrives at the same conclusion.
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I will definitely check it out! I’ve seen The Men Who Killed Kennedy. They don’t lay out a conclusion but it’s a very interesting documentary. It’s available on YouTube.
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My husband and I went to Dealy Plaza in 2022 and I was surprised at how small the area is. Talk about cornering a victim! You couldn’t find a better place to kill someone in a motorcade. I understand the route was changed at the last minute, but who knows? I’ve watched many documentaries on the subject. After visiting the scene of the assassination and walking all over the grounds and crossing the narrow street that runs through the underpass, I really believe there were several shooters. Oswald was a patsy. He may have actually shot the rifle as there are bullet holes in the concrete overpass. I believe shots were fired from the top of the train overpass as well as the grassy knoll from behind the fence. Kennedy had crossed a lot of people. There’s Castro, the Mob, etc. I think the CIA possibly was involved and I’ve always believed Mrs. Kennedy with her bloody pink suit purposely stood next to her husband’s killer as he was being sworn into office on Air Force One as a message to the American people.
I do have strong opinions on the subject and maybe Mrs. Kennedy’s book that will be revealed in years to come may confirm my ideas. There are also many witnesses that were there and told opposing versions of how many shots and bullets flying past them that conflicted with the official narrative.
Dallas has plans to demolish the book repository building and remodel Dealy Plaza, so if you would like to see it, I wouldn’t wait too long. I hate they’re doing this since it’s a piece of history and should be preserved.
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I also think there were multiple shooters. I’ve watched many documentaries on the subject. The fact Oswald and Ruby knew each other before the crime is significant. I didn’t know Mrs. Kennedy wrote a book! She was really a mysterious person in a lot of ways. I would love to read it. And how terrible if Dallas tears down the book depository! I have been to Dallas once for work and didn’t get there to see the depository. I sure hope they don’t go through with it.
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Yes, Mrs. Kennedy wrote a book and stipulated that it cannot be released until many years into the future. I wish I could remember the exact date. The book is in a safe or vault as I understand it. I think she did this for the safety of her children. I will be long gone when it’s released. It would certainly be an interesting read.
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So many things about the Kennedy assassination are to be kept under lock and key until everyone remotely interested in it is gone. That doesn’t seem right!
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And the government wonders why no one believes what they say! Lol
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No mystery there 😊
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