Inquiring for the owner of the sign, the
reporter was t.ld that he was at present
tattooing a man, but would be done di
rectly. Under the impression that the
reporter was a customer, the woman
who had gtven the information handed
him a book which she said contained
the designs her husband was capable of
executing on the human epidermis.
The book was a curiosity iu itself. It
contained abont 50 crudely executed
and highly colored drawings and de
signs. 1 here were Goddesses of Lilierty
in profusion uf all sizes and styles, the
coats of arms of the United States, Eng
land, France. Germany, Spain, Italy,
Sweden, Deumark-and Russia; anchors
and cliains.a full-rigged man-of-war fir.
ing off a cannon, ships of all kinds; the
flags of different nationalities; a ballet
girl with a very short skirt and very mus
cular limbs; a Venus; a willow-surround
ed tomb with the words, "My mother'
on its face; butcher's knife and cleaver
crossed; black smith's hammer and
tongs: mermaids sitting on a rock play
ing on a lyre; Masonic emblrms; burn
ing hearts, eagles, lions etc. Under
neath each design was the cost of hav
ing it executed, the prices ranging from
25 ets to S3. It was evident that the cus
tomers of the shop preferred realistic
pictures to allegorical hints, and a heart
pierced by an arrow cost only 25 cents,
while the design of a jauntily clad sailor
embracing a short-skirted female cost
2.
