Goodnight Irene

Irene Woodward, also known as La Belle Irene, was a tattooed lady who performed during the 1880s. She made her New York debut just weeks after Nora Hildebrandt to great fanfare, including a report in the New York Times. She worked at Bunnell's museum and successfully toured Europe. Onstage, she claimed to have been tattooed by her father, and, in a break from the usual tales of forcible tattooing, claimed she actually wanted the work done. Woodward was actually tattooed by Samuel O'Reilly and his then-apprentice Charles Wagner. At times, she claimed to have been inspired by having seen Constantine. In 1883, she married a showbiz man named George E Sterling with whom she had a son, also named George, and spent 15 years in the circus.

She died in December of 1915 at the age of 53 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Info courtesy of MBEzine.

Here's a sketchbook page from the sketchbook of Samuel F. O'Reily, Irene Woodward was illustrated by him.

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Swinging on a Star

Irene Woodward, born 1862, signed and incsribed  "Age 20..."  on this carte de viste. Probably for sale to adoring fans at the circus. That’s if we can believe she was 20 when she signed the the back of the card.  My other job is working in a liquor store so I’ve gotten pretty good at guessing people’s ages.  All women lie about their age, usually shaving off a few years but still, I would not card her. This young lady, as radiant as she is, probably is not under 21.

But she could have been tattooed around 1880, considering she was born in 1862. Eighteen might have been the legal age (if there was one) for this kind of enterprise. 

She almost went down in history as the first tattooed lady in the circus game, short by only a few weeks.

The inking was most certainly done by Samuel F. O’Reilly. Although she claimed abduction by tribesmen in the South Seas, Mr. O'Reilly's signature swirls and embellishments can be seen adorning her legs. We love the hand tinted pink carnation on her shoulder. Nice touch Mr. 1880's Photographer guy!

Looks like somebody from " An Artist Formally Known as Prince" music video traveled back in time and got Shanghaied by a tattoo artist. Which just might have been the best thing that happened to Ms Woodward, because let’s be frank, the 1890’s must have been dreadful.

Cover page from an O'Reilly sketchbook. Note the swirls and action line dash's, all signatures of his splendid work.

We salute you, La Belle Irene!

And a tip of the cap to the master tattooist Samuel F. O'Reilly.

Thanks to  http://wiki.bme.com/index.php?title=Irene_Woodward

"Irene Woodward, also known as La Belle Irene, was a tattooed lady who performed during the 1880s. She made her New York debut just weeks after Nora Hildebrandt to great fanfare, including a report in the New York Times. She worked at Bunnell's museum and successfully toured Europe. Onstage, she claimed to have been tattooed by her father, and, in a break from the usual tales of forcible tattooing, claimed she actually wanted the work done. Woodward was actually tattooed by Samuel O'Reilly and his then-apprentice Charles Wagner. At times, she claimed to have been inspired by having seen Constantine. In 1883, she married a showbiz man named George E Sterling with whom she had a son, also named George, and spent 15 years in the circus.

She died in December of 1915 at the age of 53 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."

http://wiki.bme.com/index.php?title=Irene_Woodward

http://ltproject.com/ltproject/Samuel_F._OReilly.html

The Greatful Crane

Cranes are common symbols and themes in the folklore of East Asia, including Japan. The Grateful Crane or the Crane Wife is a particularly well-known tale in Japan, see the resources below:
“The Grateful Crane” (Japanese fairy tale)

Thomas Berg, circa 1910 (Detail)

Cranes are an important motif in Chinese mythology. There are various myths involving cranes, and in Chinese mythology cranes are generally symbolically connected with the idea of immortality (Eberhard, 1983: 75-76). Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of China. The geographic area of "China" is of course a concept which has evolved of changed through history. Cranes in Chinese mythology include myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups (of which fifty-six are officially recognized by the current administration of China). (Yang 2005:4) The motifs of cranes may vary in a range from reference to real cranes (such as the Red-crowned Crane) to referring to transformed Taoist immortals (xian), who sometimes were said to have magical abilities to transform into cranes in order to fly on various journeys.

Samuel F. O'Reilly, circa 1880s (detail)

First Tattoo Pinup Ever?

 Samuel F. O’Reilly 

After emigrating from Ireland in 1871, Samuel F. O’Reilly set up his tattoo business in the back of a barber shop at 11 Chatham Square, New York City. This image, showing a woman’s legs was considered quite racy in the late 1800s. 

"A lady, when crossing the street, must raise her dress a bit above the ankle while holding the folds of her gown together in her right hand and drawing them toward the right. It was considered vulgar to raise the dress with both hands as it would show too much ankle, but was tolerated for a moment when the mud is very deep." As told by The Lady's Guide to Perfect Gentility. 

That sounds just like our image, the subject holding her garment with both hands, it almost looks like she could be standing in mud. This drawing is from a notebook dating to the 1880’s. It appears he used his wife’s initials, M.F.O.R. (Mrs. F. O’ Reilly,) to illustrate a four letter sample in a banner. 

This is thought to be one of the earliest known examples of American tattoo flash, and possibly one of the earliest pinups penned by a tattoo artist.

Ed Smith Rocks

 

America's Tattoo Master, Mr. Samuel F. O'Reilly, trained Ed Smith along with Charles Wagner in the 20's and 30's on the Bowery in New York City. Bums, empty bottles and the elevated train ran the streets back then.

We have all seen photos of tattooed people but not too many self portraits of the tattoo artist sporting a tattoo. 

The imagery depicts a maiden in distress clinging to a cross shaped rock as the prow of a ship goes under, pummeled by crashing waves. 

The idea probably serves as a reminder for us to keep the faith, no matter what. Kind of the like that 'Hang in there Baby' cat poster you always see in dentists offices. A lot of us would rather have Rock of Ages tattooed on our backs than ever see that poster again.  

As a symbol    "...'Rock of Ages' which, as is well known, protects the tar from all general mishaps..." From Tattoo, Secrets of a Strange Art as Practiced Among the Natives of the United States, Albert Parry, 1933.

Looks like Ed had fun with this one.  His most cool version of the classic, almost pagan, symbol of non-drowning; a pig. Usually tattooed on a sailors instep of the left foot, because, as everyone knows, the rooster goes on the right. These are the two animals that can not swim. It's a form of reverse good luck, like Born to Lose for bikers or Break a Leg for the theater crowd. Wearing this symbol not only acknowledges the danger but controls the luck.

Ed Smith went into commercial production with designs of some of his most popular images. Many thanks to Cliff White's good eye as he spotted this correctly as an Ed Smith design even though it's signed "Millie." She may have colored and re-inked parts of it as they worked closely together on the Bowery. This sheet looks like it's been through the ringer but it's a survivor. Not many are still around actually signed by legendary Mildred Hull.