 |
Temporary
Tattoos
The
early history of
temporary tattoos
is vague. However,
by the turn of
the century temporary
tattoos or transfers
were beginning
to appear. Surely
the first ones
were the food coloring
style that could
be easily transferred
with spit or water.
It is possible
that Cracker Jacks® was
the first to circulate
these transfers. The popcorn and
peanut confection
was introduced
to the public in
1896. In 1912 "A
Prize in Every
Box" was introduced
when toys were
inserted into every
package. Some of
the early prizes
could have been
temporary tattoos.
Today Cracker Jacks® include
food coloring style
tattoos as prizes
in their snack.
In the 1950s, sheets
of these food-coloring
designs were sold
for 1 cent each.
I remember them
from my childhood
in North Carolina.
Throughout the years there have
been many television shows, cartoons,
sports and commercial products
that have used temporary tattoos
to promote their wares. Below are
listed but a few in the Archive's
collection:
Baseball cards had been in circulation
for a long time before Baseball
Tattoos hit the market in the 1970s.
These food coloring designs were
produced by Topps® and featured
Pete Rose on the wrapper.
Bionic Woman Tattoos were introduced
to promote the television series
The Bionic Woman which aired on
ABC in 1976.
Pee Wee's Playhouse Tattoos were
food-coloring designs from the
Saturday morning TV show, circa
1980s.
 Smurf
Tattoos are another food
coloring item from the
giant of trading card companies,
Topps®, circa 1980s.
Scratch and Sniff Tattoos are one
of the most unusual temporary tattoos
in the Archive's collection. These
designs are coated with the famous
3M Microfragrence® material,
hypoallergenic for sensitive skin,
circa 1980s.
In the 1980s, Ole Hansen, a world
famous tattooist from Copenhagen,
teamed up with the Dandy Novelty
Company and together they produced
some temporary tattoos. Borrowing
a lot from Ole's tattoo flash,
these temporary tattoos are a look
back to the old time spit designs.
These tattoos are made from food
coloring and have wordless instructions
for the application of these transfers.
Spurred on by an increased interest
in tattooing during the mid1980s,
the look of temporary tattoos began
to change. This general interest,
combined with Hollywood's desire
to have a product that would "tattoo" a
person temporarily for the movies,
encouraged inventor Keith R. Relyea
from St. Joseph, Wisconsin, along
with Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing
(The 3M Company) to patent a method
of printing images on a translucent
film that could then be transferred
to the body. This patent, #4,594,276,was
filed April 9, 1984 and accepted
June 10, 1986.
Over the years tattooists have
worked with temporary tattoo companies
to produce a product that truly
has the look of the real thing.
The latest offering from this collaboration
is the Official Tattoo Brand, by
J.D. Crowe.
Considered the Cadillac of temporary
tattoos and sold under the name
Paper Tattoos, these temporary
tattoos may have been designed
by Japanese tattooist Mitsuaki
Ohwada, circa 1980s.
A promotional flier for Paper Tattoos
showing four large back piece designs,
circa 1980s, was also produced.
Thanks to the new patent on the
film used for these temporary tattoos,
their popularity as body decorations
are at an all time high. Being
more realistic and longer lasting,
these modern versions have become
the choice of many less committed
tattooees.
 
Tattoo Archive © 1995
See
a temporary
tattoo in
our online store.
|
