ganekhali:

White cultures that practiced tattooing before “white imperialism” even fucking happened:

• Germans
• Nords
• Picts
• Scandinavians
• Gaels
• Celts

Tattooing was introduced as an actual artform in the united states in the 1800’s and came over with immigrants (primarily coming with mob/mafia dominated societies).

Indigenous peoples of the Americas already practiced tattooing, well before that.

It was a GERMAN Immigrant that became the first “official” Professional tattooist in the United States.

It was an IRISH immigrant that patented the first electric tattooing machine and opened the first OFFICIAL tattoo parlour, Located in New York.

(Oh look, two people from cultures that practiced tattooing before “white imperialism” ever existed. How fucking shocking.)

The original Sailor Jerry tattoos were popular among “Sailors” who were actually usually common fishermen, who were getting their tattoos well before the wars even happened.

The Navymen came back from war with TRIBAL STYLE tattoos.

The Navymen did nothing more but expose common people to tattooing and help popularize it.

Norman Collins, AKA “Sailor Jerry”, WAS one of those “common fishermen”, and WAS a US Navyman who served in the wars. He melded the styles he experienced while overseas with ALREADY EXISTING tattoo imagery in the United States.

(Oh, and Don “Ed Hardy” is a fucking thief who attempted to fucking take the credit for “Sailor Jerry”s work when he created Sailor Jerry, Ltd. in 1999.)

Those tattoos combined with the ORIGINAL “Sailor Jerry” style tattoos, mixed with tattooing brought back from war, mixed with the Circus and Side Show use of tattoos (the Tattooed Lady, anyone?), mixed with tattoo imagery introduced in America FIRST by predominantly German and Irish immigrants ALL combined into what is now known as “American Traditional Tattoo Style”, which has recently been mixed with Fine Arts education and given birth to “Modern American Tattoo Style”.

Anyone have any fucking questions?

no questions; just corrections.

ed hardy was actually sailor jerry’s apprentice/protégé, however they all still appropriated tattooing from people of colour.  the end.

(Source: herbalialavandula)