THE STORY OF THE TATTOOED MAN
You can beat a tattoo, but you can't beat a tattooed man.

THE STORY OF THE TATTOOED MAN

The Story of the Tattooed Man You can beat a tattoo, but you can't beat a tattooed man. Wandering from town to town in a small launch along the inland waterways of this State, the tattooed man came to town last week. He tied up in Clinton square for several days and ornamented with flowers and snakes and beautiful ladies such persons as demanded his services as a tattooer. The tattooed man is "Prof." Bert Thompson. Leading a queer, nomadic life he travels throughout the country practicing his strange art. Though now only 43 years old, he has been: 1. A sailor for eight years, visiting nearly every part of the globe. 2. A professional aeronaut. 3. A circus gymnast. 4. A human target with a sideshow. 5. A "human pincushion." 6. A bareback rider. 7. A tattooed man with a circus. 8. A tightrope walker. 9. A professional tattooer. The tattooed man is covered from neck to feet with strange and wonderful designs. In the words of Frank Daniels's song - "He is a walking picture gallery; Such a spectacular gent:" For several years the tattooed man has spent his summers going from city to city tattooing people and his winters traveling with circuses. Within the last year, he estimates, he has traveled about 18,000 miles. From Syracuse he will go to Albany, and thence down the Hudson to New York. Later he expects to go to Florida In his little launch, following the "inside route" of canals and rivers that belt the Atlantic coast. Forward he has a little enclosed cabin, and aft is the cockpit with a 3-cylinder gasoline motor developing more than twelve horsepower. She is a tight, tidy little craft and serves the tattooed man both as workshop and floating home for he bunks aboard. Just back of the wheel a big kerosene lamp helps keep the cabin warm, even in cold weather, and here the tattooer sits pricking strange devices on his customer's arm. In front of him is a metal trunk, with insulated wires issuing from it. This supplies the current for the tattooing, which is done by electricity. It is said to be painless and a great improvement over the old-fashioned way. Women who seek the Tattooer The story of the Tattooed Man - Brought up with a circus The Syracuse Herald, October 31, 1909