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Although the current celebrity tattoo craze has brought tribal and Japanese designs to the modern forefront, there still remains a loyal following for the timeless retro tat.

Those who grew up in the popular culture still feel an affection for the traditional designs they've seen growing up : hearts & roses, crosses & other religious symbols, skull & crossbones - even vintage 1940's pin-up girls and cartoon characters - are resurging in popularity as a way to just have fun and buck the current trend in tattoo fashions.

A Brief History of the Tattoo in America

Although tattooing can be traced as far back as ancient Egypt and China, (and onward toward Polynesia and Japan) the modern trend toward mainstream tattoos in the Western world all began with a simple invention in 1891.

That's the year New York Bowery resident Samuel O'Riley came up with the idea for an electric tattoo machine featuring a pen gun with an ink reservoir. The result was faster and more affordable "tattaugraphs."

Hearts & Roses, Mom & more...

Business boomed, and later Coney Island became the center of the tattoo universe in America spreading nationwide.

In the 20th century, World War I saw the rise in popularity of American flag, eagles and other patriotic tattoo symbols and icons. Later, tattoo parlors began to gravitate toward military bases as the country entered World War II. The now traditional rose & banner inscribed with a sweetheart's name, the pretty pin-up girl, sailing ships, or the simple inscription "Mom" became widely popular.

Also popular were particular place names, which helped soldiers or sailors chronicle the various towns through which they travelled or saw military action.

Tattoo Taboos

By the 1950's, the practice fell out of favor as tattoos came to be considered the mark of street or motorcylce gangs, punk hoodlums and juvenile deliquents.

Tattooing fell into even further disrepute by the 1960's as a sudden hepatitis outbreak forced mass closings of tattoo studios (in New York, tattoos became illegal) and scared many away from even considering a tattoo. The tabloids quickly blaired banner headlines broadcasting the horrors of blood poisoning and other diseases associated with "tattoo dens."

Everything Old is New Again

However, as health codes became more stringent and laws were relaxed, a turnaround in the late 60's was helped along by tattoo artist Lyle Tuttle, who is now generally credited for almost single-handedly reversing the trend. And the rest, as they say, is tattoo history - as rock icons such as Janis Joplin and fashion trend-setters such as Cher became famous Tuttle clients paving the way to the current mania for celebrity tattoos.

Today, the tattoo craze has come full circle as retro tattoo designs have once again gained favor with the "anti-cool" crowd perhaps making the classic tattoo in effect, cooler than cool...

For more, check out additional facts, information, and trivia surrounding traditional tattoo design on the Web, including symbols and meanings, tattoos inspired by classical or religious artwork, as well as historical & entertaining tattoo tales and featured picture galleries :

TattooNow.com - Traditional Tattoos - Great picture gallery collection of retro tattoo studio work in traditional styles including skulls, roses, crosses, dragons, sailing ships, sharks, pin-up girls, and more. Keep clicking...

Tatto Art - Traditional - Several photo galleries on view at Tattoo Artists.org.with classic and traditional skull, rose, cross, "Mom", pin-up girl, and related tattoos from featured artists, with related community forum postings

Traditional American Tattoos - MySpace page featuring stories, commentary & pictures of traditional skulls, sailing ships, stars, snakes and more.

Religious Tattoos - Check out an extensive picture gallery of crosses, sacred hearts, praying hands and more at this community devoted to relgious tattoo images, history, related links.

Rose Tattoos - Body Art - Feature story from BellaOnline.com with facts & history on the rose as a popular symbol and tattoo design, with short descriptions of rose colors and their meanings, related links & suggested reading.

Wiz Tattoos - Images in Flowers - Images depicting roses, lillies, sunflower, lotus flower, iris and more floral designs from the Maine USA tattoo studio.

A Whirlwind Tour of Tattoo History - Review & brief chapter excepts from Tattoo History: A Source Book and described as "of interest to everyone with a serious case of tattoo mania."

Tattoo Archive - An extensive record of the art form told in words & images including an A-Z glossary detailing famous tatooists & tattoo events through the ages, including a comprehensive list of related links.

also see -> Butterfly Tattoos | Celebrity Tattoos | Celtic Tattoos

Dragon Tattoos | Japanese Designs

Tribal Tattoos