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German
Tattoo Attractions
Germany
has a long history
of body decoration.
In 1988, a carved
figure of a man
was found in a
cave at Hohlenstein-Stadel,
in Germany, carbon
dated at 32,000
years old. The
body had markings
with thin lines
running across
the upper arm.
Friedrich Barbarossa
("red beard"),
Roman king and
emperor of Germany
from 1152 to 1190,
is often seen in
illustrations with
cross designs on
the back of his
hands. Kaiser Wilhelm,
who was Emperor
of Germany in 1908,
was rumored to
have an eagle tattooed
on his chest. Of
course the German
ports on the North
and Baltic Seas
added the sailor
heritage to German
tattoo history.
There have been many German attractions
in sideshows on both sides of the
Atlantic. We should not forget
that the first professional tattooist
in the United States was Martin
Hildebrandt, a German immigrant.
Nora Hildebrandt, Martin's daughter,
is credited as the first female
attraction in the United States
in the 1860s.
Following are a few of the attractions
that came from Germany or made
their name there.
Don Manuelo, shown
on the right, entered the
sideshow world in the late
1800s with a body suit
of designs that tell many
stories. His back piece
features a large military
battle scene with an eagle
and crossed flags below.
On his chest he wears images
of "Red Indians", sailors
and women. One of Manuelo's
designs was laced-up spats
tattooed on his lower legs,
which was a popular design
with German attractions.
Annie Frank arrived
on the tattoo scene in
the 1920s. Her tattoos
consisted of many patriotic
designs like Miss Liberty,
eagles, crossed flag and
the required laced-up spats.
Angelika Schwarz's history
is unknown to the Archive.
This stylistic poster shows
her tattoos to be mainly
of animals, butterflies
and flowers.
Miss Creola and Miss
Alwanda , shown to
the left, were one of the
few double attractions
in the history of the sideshow.
This poster shows them
being captured and tattooed
by "Red Indians", yet most
of their tattoos are portraits
of European kings and queens.
I guess those "Red Indians" had
a sense of humor. Note
the spelling of America
on Miss Alwanda's leg.
La
Bella Angora's poster
has front and
back views of
her tattoos that
feature a great
chest eagle and
multi-jeweled
necklace (and
the now common place
tattooed
spats).
Lyda Akado worked
with the American Ringling
Bros. Barnum & Bailey
Circus in 1954. She is
seen here in a front
and back pose that was
sold by Bernard Kobel
(#708). This mid-way
shot with Akado's non-canvas
banner, shown below,
is also from Kobel but
is only listed in his
Circusiana catalog (#244).
Frank and Emma de
Burgh were
an American couple tattooed
in the 1890s by Samual
O' Reilly in New York
City. The reason they
are included in this
review of German attractions
is because most of the
historical information
that has survived is
from their work in Germany.
They are seen here in
a German poster with
other sideshow members.
Nora Hildebrandt first
appeared at Bunnell's
Museum in New York City
in 1882 with a tattoo
for every day of the
year. That's right! 365
tattoos done by her father
Martin. Tattooed daughters
and wives became a calling
card for many tattooists
of this era.
Tattoo Archive © 2000
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