Samuel O’Reilly First Electric Tattoo Machine
In 1891, a New Yorker named Samuel O’Reilly patented the first electric tattoo machine. O’Reilly had been tattooing by hand on the infamous Bowery (Third Avenue) in lower Manhattan. He took an electric rotary engraving device created by Thomas Edison and modified it so it could be used for tattooing.
First Electric Tattoo Machine
O’Reilly soon offered the device for sale, along with designs, colors, and other tattoo supplies. This created a boom of new tattooists.
