J.F. Barber: Tattoo Trade Professional
By Carmen Nyssen
Jesse Frederick Barber was a popular early tattoo artist-tattoo supplier, who made the most of business. As a professional, he understood the worth of engaging in many aspects of the trade, as well as, the value of producing quality work. A look at some of Barber’s endeavors allows us a small window into his adept business approach.
J.F. Barber’s Tattoos Speak for Themselves
Barber must have been especially proud of the below piece work. These photos hung on the polished exterior of his 1019 Vine Street, Cincinnati tattoo parlor (See above photo c. 1908-1913), and were featured in a 1910 Popular Electricity article. The article noted that this tattoo, a battleship chest piece, was applied on a local boilermaker, in color, in 3 sittings of two hours each.
This next tattoo, a crucifixion back piece, was done in one sitting of 3 ½ hours length on August Pfefferman.
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Designs
As any seasoned tattooer would, Barber mindfully offered a variety of designs to customers. According to the Popular Electricity article, the usual stock tattoo designs decorated his studio walls, as did more fanciful motifs, such as, “Aurora Queen of the Dawn,” “Birth of Bacchus,” and “Siegfried and the Dragon.”
Barber’s Tattooed Men
Though catering to walk-in patrons was one facet of business, Barber pointedly integrated tattooed attractions into his repertoire as well. It’s a given that a tattoo is a living advertisement of a tattoo artist’s work. Tattooed attractions—exhibiting to large crowds on the carnival & dime museum circuit—took that dynamic to a whole other level. More so if their tattoos were displayed on a comely form.
In numerous newspaper ads, Barber prudently solicited young “well built” men with “clear white skin” to tattoo for exhibition —a service he charged $100 for in 1908, and $150 in 1910.
Three first-rate examples of Barber’s bodysuit tattoos are that of Norfolk’s famous Cap Coleman (c. 1911), Huey Bowen, and Coney Island attraction Frank Graff (c. 1915-16).
(As an aside, in 1913, Barber also managed a dime show novelty act, Valerius & Valerius, Danish Iron Jaw performers).
The Star and Perfection Tattoo Machines
Tattoo machinery was another of Barber’s business fortes. Barber had been working with some type of electric tattoo machine since 1903 (before Charlie Wagner’s 1904 patent), when he operated a small stand on Cleveland’s Ontario Street.
Whether Barber actually built his own machines at this early date isn’t known. By 1908 though, he’d moved into the 1019 Vine Street location in Cincinnati, and according to a Cincinnati Post article, was making his own tattoo implements.
By the next year, Barber was offering complete tattoo outfits in Billboard Magazine and often splurged on lavish ads. Some were exceptionally large and included images of his “Perfection” tattoo machine, giving us concrete evidence of what his tattoo machines looked like in a precise period.
In August of 1910, Barber announced an “improved tattooing machine, which has many advantages of those formerly on the market.” It’s not clear if this was his “Perfection” model advertised as early as May 1910, or another touted tattoo machine, the “Star,” which he doesn’t mention by name until a 1913 ad. (The name “Perfection” and price of $8.00 might be some indication).
1913 Mar 22 Billboard:
“…I want to call your attention to my improved machines. These Machines are the result of years of experimenting….”
Barber’s Star Tattooing Machine $2.50 each
Barber’s Perfection Tattooing Machine $8.00 each
An interesting note for tattoo machine collectors (as far as machine dating and comparison goes) is that Barber was still hyping his “Star” and “Perfection” tattoo machines in supply catalogs after he’d returned to Cincinnati in 1922. That means these models were in circulation c. 1910-1922 and were contemporaneous with later, further improved machines made by other suppliers (though perhaps with upgraded features).
Note: Barber had moved to Detroit sometime between 1913 and 1914, opening up at 70 ½ Brush Street, where a young Owen Jensen worked in his tattoo machine shop. He moved back to Cincinnati about 1921-22 and opened a shop at 111 East Third.
Tattoo Design Books
Fortunately, some of J.F. Barber’s flash exists in today’s tattoo collections, as do a few well-executed, brightly colored design books (or pages from design books).
One thing to keep in mind about prosperous tattoo suppliers, such as Barber, is that they would have kept quite busy creating products and filling orders. Depending on supply offerings and resources, the former might have consisted of:
Casting frames, assembling/building machines, assembling tattoo outfits, cutting stencils, painting and drawing (even printing) designs, etc. etc.
With such a hefty work load in addition to running a tattoo shop, there’s no doubt that spouses, partners, or hired workers had a hand in tasks. An ad I found, presumably placed by Barber, exemplifies this point, particularly in regard to tattoo designs. (Barber’s shop was listed on the 2nd floor in a 1912 ad)
1913 Jan 26 Cincinnati Enquirer pg. 27
“A young lady-For pen drawing and water coloring; must have some natural talent and a fast worker. Call Monday, or write, stating your lowest salary. No. 1019 Vine St., second floor.”
From the sound of this ad, it seems Barber was filling a good number of orders and doing well for himself. But the ad also raises an interesting question about attribution of tattoo supply items, such as, design books. As in, who actually created, drew, and painted a given flash sheet or design book (despite a signature)? The tattoo artist-supplier, someone else, or both? My guess is a lot has been confused over the years.
Tattoo History Mysteries
As illustrated, researching tattoo history isn’t straightforward; there’s much to consider. The professionalism of an early tattoo artist and supplier was the intended gist of this write up. But as always, mysteries pop up all over the place once you start investigating. I guess the intrigue is what keeps driving us to find answers.
Until Next Time!
J.F. Barber’s Tattoo Associations:
Cap Coleman was a tinkerer and developer of tattoo machinery and tattoo machine parts. As seen in the Buzzworthy Tattoo History research article, Cap Coleman: Tattooed Man Turned Tattoo Master article, and the article, Owen Jensen: Tattooer-Supplier Tradition, he also dabbled in the supply business.
Owen Jensen was a Tattoo machine ‘inventor’ and supplier. He was know for his superior tattoo machines, and his professional tattoo flash, stencils, tubes, inks, and tattoo outfits.
Questions or Comments? Email:
carmennyssen@buzzworthytattoo.com
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