Tattoo History | Maud Wagner | Atlanta Tattoo Shop
Maud Wagner was the first widely known Female Tattooer in the United States.
Maud was born February 12, 1877 in Emporia Kansas. By the early 1900’s, Maud started working in a traveling circus as an acrobat, aerialist and contortionist, which would eventually lead her to St. Louis World Fair, operational from April 30th - December 1st 1904. It is during this time at the World Fair that is considered to be the most impactful moment of her career. There she would go on to meet her future husband, Gus Wagner, a renowned Tattoo Artist who claimed he was the last to only work by hand rather than use a machine, using a stick and poke method. Gus considered himself to be “The most artistically marked up man in the world” and was widely known as the “Globetrotting Tattooer''. Gus also worked as a sideshow performer, which would eventually cause Maud and Gus to meet. Some say there was a stipulation offered, tattoo lessons in return date with him; however, it is unclear if Maud insisted, or if Gus offered. Other sources argue that Maud demanded lessons for the return for said date. Either way, it is evident that he taught her how to tattoo her own body, not just the bodies of others.
It wasn’t long before Maud would become covered in tattoo artwork, working her way into yet another attraction, “Tattooed Woman”. It only took roughly 3 years to cover most of her body based on the time she met Gus in 1904 until the photo listed below, in 1907. Sources indicate that Maud’s tattoos were “typical for the time period”. Her work consisted of “patriotic tattoos” such as eagles, monkeys, butterflies, lions, horses, snakes, trees and women. Maud reportedly had her own name tattooed on her left arm as well. By this time, it wasn’t uncommon to see “Tattooed Women” in a circus sideshow.
Gus and Muad would eventually marry and move on from the circus, traveling around the United States, working both as tattoo artists and "tattoo attractions" in Vaudeville Houses, County Fairs and Amusement Arcades. Maud and Gus are often credited with bringing tattoo artistry inland, away from the coastal cities and towns where the practice had started. This movement of tattoo culture enabled the skills to be shared amongst locals, and served to help disseminate attitudes towards tattooing widely.
Together, Gus and Maud were arguably the last artists from their era to use the “stick and poke” hand method, even after the invention of the electric tattoo machine by Samuel O’Reilley in New York City, New York on December 8, 1891. After her success in performing the skill, she passed it on to her daughter, Lovetta; however, Maud refused to let Gus tattoo their daughter. This would result in Lovetta being one of very few tattoo artists to have never been tattooed; one account suggests that Lovetta decided if she couldn’t be tattooed by her father, then she wouldn’t be tattooed by anyone.
Maud passed away on February 12, 1961 after years of being one of few female tattooers in the country. She died one of the most famous stick and poke artists of her generation, leaving behind a legacy that would live on through her daughter Lovett, who’s last tattoo was completed using the stick and poke technique on tattooer Don Ed Hardy.