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Carol
(Smokey) Nightingale
Carol
(Smokey) Nightingale
acquired his first
tattoo from his
mother at the age
of eleven. It is
said that his mother,
who worked in the
circus, taught
him the art of
tattooing.
Nightingale spent twelve years
in the Merchant Service and started
tattooing in 1957. He called tattooing
dermographics. It is said that
he specialized in designs related
to the female form and used an
ultrasonic method of cleaning his
equipment. Known as "The Man with
the Golden Needle," Nightingale
was a chain pipe smoker, hence
the nickname Smokey.
Carol Nightingale, a Canadian,
tattooed in Alliston, Ontario and
in Vancouver, British Columbia
at #418 Hastings Street East. He
relocated to the United States
in 1965 and set up shop in the
nation's capital, Washington, DC
at #900 Twelfth Street NW where
he built a very unique shop.
 To enter you would push the buzzer
wherein he would come to the door
and ask you what you wanted. If
you answered incorrectly, he would
ask for an admission fee (on my
first visit it was $10.00). These
formalities over and once inside,
you saw that Nightingale tattooed
in a metal cage, often with a dog
in there with him. His shop was
in a rough section of DC, just
across the street from the bus
station, so his security was above
the norm.
 On May 16, 1978 Nightingale filed
a patent for an electrical marking
device, (also known as a tattooing
machine) with the US Patent Office.
Following is Nightingale's description
of the machine, taken from the
abstract section of his patent
application:
"An electric marking
device for tattooing humans,
animals, and for other
applications comprises
a frame assembly having
a rectangular prismatic
base and a pair of side
plates secured to opposite
sides of the base, an electromagnet
assembly mounted on the
base between the side plates,
an armature assembly adjustably mounted between the side
plates above the electromagnet
assembly, an interrupter
switch supported between
the side plates above the
armature assembly, a needle
guide assembly holder pivotal
supported to the front
of the base, a locator
key slot provided in the
needle guide assembly holder,
a tubular needle guide
ssembly included a central
tubular hand piece and
upper and lower tubular
extensions, a positioning
collar secured on the upper
extension in predetermined
position, a locator key
secured to the positioning
collar, the needle guide
assembly being removable
assembled with the needle
guide assembly holder in
predetermined position
by mating the locator key
of the positioning collar
with the locator key slot
of the needle guide assembly
holder."
This technical-ese is typical of
the language used in patent forms,
as if applicants are searching
for the wordiest descriptions possible.
Nightingale's patent was accepted
on July 3, 1979 as #4,159,659.
To our knowledge, this machine
was never mass-produced and when
Carol Nightingale fled the United
States just ahead of the authorities,
he took the only known copies of
this machine with him.
In the 1980s Nightingale formed
a supply business named The Hanover
Schmaltz Co., probably with the
idea of marketing the machine he
received the patent for. Information
in the Archive's collection of
supply houses only offer Nightingale's
version of the flip-top tube pre-soldered
needles, rather than the completed
product.
Frank Mills was tattooed by Nightingale
in the early 1980s and later bought
equipment from him. In a phone
conversation Mills said that the
flip-top tubes came in two sizes,
the standard tube length (4 inches
plus or minus) and the giant size
(7 to 8 inches). Nightingale's
supply flyer stated the length
to be 5 1/8 inch (plus or minus).
If you have never seen one of these
tubes, here is a description: "These
hand pieces (Nightingale's term
for a tube) have a precision fitted
door that will warm the cockles
of your heart; a flick of the thumb
and the door opens wide, enabling
the operator to clean the interior
ultrasonically (or otherwise).
The same innovative open door permits
you to check the position and alignment
of needle shaft and needles, removing
the blind spot and guesswork. Also,
with the door open, it's a simple
matter to withdraw and introduce
alternate needle bars."
There was no mention in this supply flyer of his patented machine or having it for sale.
Tattoo Archive © 2003
See
Carol (Smokey)
Nightingale's business
card in our online
store.
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