Tattooed by Martin Hildebrandt. This image is from an original cabinet card in the Daredevil Museum collection. — Tattooed by Martin Hildebrandt. This image is from an original cabinet card in the Daredevil Museum collection.

New York's First Professional Tattooer

January 11, 2016

Martin Hildebrandt was listed as tattooing in New York City as early as 1859. He tattooed the first "tattooed ladies" that exhibited on the Bowery and opened the first permanent place of business for tattooing in the United States.

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“Liberty the Tattooed Lady” is now available for sale at the Statue of Liberty gift shop on Liberty Island! This book is written by @daredevilmichelle as a catalog for the show curated by Michelle at @cityreliquary Museum in Brooklyn, open weekends 12-6 pm at 370 Metropolitan Ave. This week get $10 off either online or pick up your copy at the shop to save on shipping! Link in bio to order. 72 pages, hardcover jammed with images in full color. This is a limited run and will make a great holiday gift.

Daredevil Tattoo Museum

The Daredevil Tattoo Museum is part of our tattoo shop. The museum collection is free to visit, there is no admission Fee. We feature artifacts from the early roots of modern tattooing focusing on the history of tattooing in NYC. We are also always interested in tattoo artifacts related to the history of tattooing espscially related to New York City. Please contact us if you have something you would like to donate or sell. Donations may qualify as charitable deductions for federal income tax purposes.