By: Elizabeth King
It isn’t very often that I have the chance to get in period
dress anymore, but I recently had the pleasure of being outfitted as one of the
characters in the Museum’s Historic Literary Walks. When dressing up, there are
certain rules we’ve adopted here at the Village to be as authentic as possible
when representing the fashion of the years we portray. They’re all pretty
obvious; no noticeable make-up, no bright, unnaturally coloured hair showing, no
modern face piercings visible, and no nail-polish. Checking myself, I was okay
on all fronts, relieved.
But then…it struck me!
A few months ago I got a visible tattoo. It’s a tiny one,
and it’s not very noticeable at a glance, but it’s right on top of the middle
finger on my left hand. And if I gesticulate, you notice it. This got me
thinking…am I going to have to wear gloves? Am I going to be banned from
getting into costume, will I ever look authentic in our costumes again? It
actually worried me! I decided I needed to know more – because if there’s one
thing you can be sure of when it comes to me – I love a soap box, and I want to
be ready with my argument for why it’s going to be okay. So here it is folks - I
can still be a Victorian lady, even with a tattoo! This is why…
In England and the U.S. in the early 1800’s, tattooing was
a shocking and scandalous art seen only amongst the lower classes - sailors,
criminals, and women of ill repute. All of this changed, however, in the 1860’s
when Queen Victoria’s son, the then Prince of Wales, had a cross tattooed on
his body as a symbol of religious devotion while on a trip to Jerusalem. Two of
his children followed suit, and in the 1880’s, had tattoos done as well. They
were vocal about emulating their father. This caused, like most taboo things,
an interest to blossom. Now that a few important people showed an interest, it
started what would be a trend among the Aristocracy at the time. In one article
I read that "in 1898, in an article in the Harmsworth Monthly Pictorial Magazine, author R.J. Stephen estimated as many as 100,000 people in London (England) alone had tattoos."
I should explain that these tattoos were not visible and
prominently out on display. People were quite tricky about hiding their ink, and
it wasn’t common to see the work. Today,
tattoos are a mainstream phenomenon and very much on display. Not so in the
Victorian era. Although it was happening, and people knew, the owners of the
work would wear jewelry and accessories to cover it up until they wanted it
seen.
When looking up information for this article, I came across
some information about Lady Churchill (yes, that’s Winston’s mama!). If that
isn’t an example of a Victorian lady, I don’t know what is. Apparently, she was
known for wearing bracelets. It was her signature accessory. In 1906, in the
New York Times, it was reported that these bracelets were actually worn to
cover the tattoo of a serpent that wrapped around her wrist. Lady Churchill is
pictured below.
There she is – a tattooed Victorian lady, who if she moved
her arm and hand the right way, had a visible tattoo! (She is actually a VERY
interesting lady to read about. If you feel like a trip down “feminists in
history” lane, go google her! She worked, she was an artist, she had affairs –
and 3 husbands – and according to lore, she is responsible for what we now know
as the Manhattan cocktail).
Like most trends, once it trickled down to the middle and
working classes, the Aristocracy lost interest. Tattooing went underground again.
One of the more colourful items that is documented is that it became a popular
attraction in the carnival to have women who were completely covered with
tattoos tell terrible stories about being forced into them against their will. These
stories- dark, fascinating, and terrible - were not always true. Here are some
photographs of tattooed women who were part of the carnival scene:
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So the result of all of this…
I could wear gloves, or a ring, and cover my ink when I am
in period dress.
But I could also argue that as a matter of personal choice,
I don’t follow convention and there were plenty of Victorian women who didn’t.
The point is, we’re not talking about a Victorian dress and
a cell phone here. Tattoos existed, the MACHINE for tattooing even existed, and
it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
Elizabeth King is the Administrative/Volunteer Coordinator at Lang Pioneer Village Museum. She has been working at the Village since May of 2009. Elizabeth is passionate about history, costuming, reading, vegan culinary crusades and environmental pursuits. When she isn’t in the middle of a project at Lang, she is often found with her head in the clouds.
