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Boston - 1887
'Turn around. Jim, and let them see
the Crucificion."
Two men, seated on chairs, sat facing
each other in a room on North street.
One of them was dressed in a navy uniform.
His name was Elmer E.
Getchell. The other was a Boston citizen
named James Burke, and he was
dressed in a light and airy costume
of a pair of trunks. There was
nothing more upon him in the
way of clothing, but he had
more decoration on his body than any
man in the state. He was tattooed
from his neck down to his toe-nails..." -
Getchell shows up in NYC
A help wanted ad was placed in The World newspaper, Nov. 13th 1897:
HOUSEKEEPING: Young girl to assist in light housekeeping in family of two; orphan prefered ;::: Elmer E. Getchell, 5 Chatham Square. This is the first listing of 5 Chatam Square I can find in association with a tattooist.
Getchell was divorced and moved to NYC with his mother. -
Tattooing at 5 Chatham Sq.
Trows Business Directory of the Boroughs of Manhattanand the Bronx City of New York1898 is the first listing of tattooing at 5 Chatham Square. It lists both Elmer E. Getchell and Samuel O'Reilly as tattooing, This is the first reference to O'Reilly and Chatham square that I can find - what follows is a little confusing... -
O'Reilly...Oh Really
Patrick Bunyan, author of "All Around Town" 2010 has O'Reilly as a barber at Getchells address -
O'Reilly the barber?
Author S.B. Howard also claimed O'Reilly as a barber in 2005 "Strange But True" -
Tattoo Artists at War
The New York Times runs a story on Jan. 1st 1900 - O'Reilly was taking Getchell to federal court over the use of his electric tattoo machine and the claims that Getchell had in fact invented it. Getchell claimed that the alterations to Edisons original design were not sufficient to have a new patent granted therefore the O'Reillys claim was invalid. -
1900 Census
Elmer getchell and his Mother Lizzy are at 37 Fleet Street Brooklyn with their housekeeper. -
Tattooed Every Time He Saw His Sweetheart
A cute PR story ran in The Republic newspaper Jan. 17th 1902 - a young man courting Getchells daughter and getting tattooed as an excuse to see her... -
Scandel of Tattooed Children
The New York Tribune Illustrated Supplement Oct. 26th 1902 -
This story tells of the arrest of Charles Wagner for tattooing schoolboys, he was cautioned and released... "...In the meantime Agent King, of the Children’s society, had been busy, and arrested Charles Wagner, a young tattooer, of No. 23 ½ Bowery. Magistrate Deuel let him go on his promise to keep his needles away from young boys.
“It serves them right for practicing on ‘kids,’” said “Electric” Elmer, the “Wonder Tattooer,” ...
