[Sideshow at carnival. The only lady tattoist" on platform]" – Vintage Print
![[Sideshow at carnival. The only lady tattoist" on platform]", [between ca. 1925 and 1935] — historic photograph](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/38/387675766ccb-L.webp)
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
Step back in time with [Sideshow at carnival. The only lady tattoist" on platform]", a historic photograph rich in period detail. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.
Choose the framed print, ready to hang the day it arrives, or the unframed print for a frame of your own. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.
[Sideshow at carnival. The only lady tattoist" on platform]"
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Few sideshow attractions were as unusual as a woman working as a tattoo artist, and this picture shows one at work on a raised platform before a carnival crowd. Through the later 1920s and early 1930s, tattooing was a staple of American sideshows, where inked performers and live demonstrations drew paying customers to the midway. A woman holding the needle, rather than only wearing ink, reversed the usual role of the attraction and challenged assumptions about who could practice the trade. The caption card is unverified, so the exact location and performer remain uncertain.
| Created / published | [between ca. 1925 and 1935] |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 photographic print. |
| Notes | McManus and Young Collection; and Dr. Saint-Houdini Collection. This record contains unverified data from caption card. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,536 × 985 px · prints to 5 × 3 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-152273 |
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