Buffalo in the 1910s: Buffalo's 'tattoomen may have to go'

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

In 1910, Buffalo’s health commissioner was not a fan of tattoos.

And while many, if not most, of the tats created 110 years ago in Buffalo were for “nautical gentleman, seaward bound from the Port of Buffalo,” the commissioner was contemplating the idea that tattooing should be considering surgery — and therefore all tattooers might be considered surgeons. All tattoo artists without medical licenses (i.e., all of them) would be forced to close up shop.

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Steve Cichon

Steve Cichon writes about Buffalo’s pop culture history. His stories of Buffalo's past have appeared more than 1600 times in The Buffalo News. He's a proud Buffalonian helping the world experience the city he loves. Since the earliest days of the internet, Cichon's been creating content celebrating the people, places, and ideas that make Buffalo unique and special. The 25-year veteran of Buffalo radio and television has written five books and curates The Buffalo Stories Archives-- hundreds of thousands of books, images, and audio/visual media which tell the stories of who we are in Western New York. View all posts by Steve Cichon