Eletrical Tattooing

Object Details

Artist

Unidentified (American)

Luce Center Label

A New York tattoo artist, Samuel Reilly, invented the electric tattoo machine in 1891. He adapted Thomas Edison's design for an electric pen, in which a reciprocating motor powered a needle, to create a tattoo machine that was faster and less painful than previous hand methods. The machine needed to be portable because early American tattoo artists traveled constantly along the eastern seaboard, selling their craft to sailors at the different ports. Needles of various sizes, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a small bottle of tattoo ink appear inside this box.

Credit Line

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson

ca. 1920s-1930s

Object number

1986.65.379

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Type

Sculpture

Folk Art

Medium

painted wood with iron and brass trim and electrical fittings, tattooing needles and ink, paper card, labels, metal box, and glass bottles

Dimensions

overall: 22 x 17 x 7 in. (55.9 x 43.2 x 17.7 cm) box: 20 7/8 x 14 3/8 x 7 in. (52.9 x 36.4 x 17.7 cm)

See more items in

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department

Painting and Sculpture

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Topic

Animal\reptile\snake

Object\flower\rose

Object\written matter

Object\weapon\dagger

Record ID

saam_1986.65.379

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk771cbd42c-5937-4118-a778-539fd035d941