Shocked and Amazed! Vol. 7
Throughout the articles presented here as a dedication to those who have undoubtedly inspired and influenced not only my passions and interests, but also have assisted me in cultivating an ever evolving aesthetic. While there is an auspicious ode to the women of the past who challenged perceptions of beauty by covering their skin with hundreds of tattoo designs, I feel there are certain individuals who deserve a prominent place in the proverbial aristocratic hierarchy. Michael Wilson is granted this honor though I never met the man nor have even seen a single performance. It is his character, however, that managed to reach me through the pages of Shocked and Amazed by way of an interview conducted before his death. A few years later I was staring at his tattooed face again, this time on the cover of [body mod zine], which had come into my possession through a collection of tattoo magazines once owned by renown body modification artist John Cobb. He was introduced to me by Enigma one afternoon at the Blue Grotto in West Philly, but that is another story for a different time. The point is that Wilson stood out from the other heavily tattooed exhibits of sideshow history due to the fact that he had his face inked, and my curiosity of what set him and others apart from all of the other tattooed people dove me to investigate the phenomenon further.
Prince Constantine aka Captain Constentenus
When it comes to notable figures of tattoo and sideshow culture, John Rutherford is considered to be the first professional tattooed Englishman and was covered in broad Maori designs which extended to his face. His 1828 appearance was followed by James F. O’Connel, the first tattooed person to be put on display in the United States at Barnum’s American Museum in 1842. Prince Constantine, more famously known as Captain Constentenus, became his successor in the 1870′s and is regarded as the most remarkable of these men due to the degree of tattoo coverage. He may have even been the most tattooed man of that century, though certainly earns the merit of being the first to have a full body tattoo that included work on his face, scalp, genitals and even the webs of each finger. Blue and red depictions of native Burmese animals and creatures of eastern mythology were considered to be the made by masters of the craft, the quality revered as being the most elaborate at that time.
Horace Ridler – the Great Omi
Deemed to be one of the most popular tattooed men of all time, the Great Omi began his life as Horace Ridler, a man who served the British Army and earned the rank of major before departing from the military. In the early 1920′s he found himself in financial trouble and sought out show business as a means of amassing a new fortune. Thus he began to turn himself into an attraction, though the early work was rather crude. At the later part of the decade, Horace paid a visit to George Burchett [London's famed artist] and the wide black stripes were a means of covering those tattoos. It is said that he endured 150 hours and this dedication in choosing to transform his body is something I admire because of the determination he had to literally make himself into a spectacle. Nonetheless, it is clear that Omi created an image which played on the natural curiosity of others that still remains as a prominent example of what the human body can endure.
Jack Dracula by Diane Arbus
A contemporary counterpart to this impressive list would be Jack Dracula, also known as “the Marked Man”, who was born in 1935 near the Brooklyn shipyards. After completing high school he quickly enlisted with the Navy to avoid being drafted into the army and spent four years working as a petty officer. Following his discharge, Jack returned to Brooklyn in 1957 and took on a number of odd jobs, though his life would be changed forever when he walked into a tattoo parlor on Coney Island. He was looking to compliment a few pieces that had been acquired during service and wound up having a machine thrust in his hand as he was told to do it himself. Executing a tattoo on his thigh with success, he soon took up position as an artist at several shops in the area. This was when he gained the most prominent of his tattoos, which included a black mask that circled his eyes. He then went on to find employment with Hubert’s Dime Museum in Times Square and Barnum Bailey’s Circus in Madison Square Garden. Tattooing was outlawed in New York in 1961, causing Jack to exclusively work with sideshows, though dissatisfaction moved him to a town in Connecticut with a prime demographic for an artist and only one shop. Subsequently that city went on to ban tattooing as well, and Jack had to relocate once again, opening shops in Philadelphia. He closed up shop for good in the early 80′s and by 2003, his deteriorating health required him to take up residence in Park Place.
Jack’s remembered experiences earns him a place in mid-twentieth century tattoo culture and was even the recipient of discrimination due to his facial tattoos. During an interview he submitted a well-rehearsed answer that was partially true when asked why he got them. In a follow up he revealed much more self-awareness and stated “It kept me from getting married. Women were my weakness and I was a good-looking guy.” He went on to reveal that his tattoos were intentionally meant to nurture his ostracization from normal convention, yet was more than happy to allow others to invent stories about his reason for being tattooed. Forming a sense of self was meticulously attached to the conditions that made up his life, though it becomes apparent that he selected an exceptional path while deliberately influencing the way other people saw him as well as the way he viewed himself.
Michael Wilson’s Tribute to Jack Dracula by Dan Nicoletta
Earlier I mentioned the interview Wilson, often affectionately referred to as “Tattoo Mike”,where Jonathan Shaw explains how he broke barriers in the sideshow community by having his entire body tattooed including his face and hands. Managers did not customarily hire anyone with these areas inked, and though there is a progressive amount of people who have these places tattooed, Mike Wilson became an icon as Coney Island’s Illustrated Man, his image used to sell everything from breath mints to clothing. ”When I was first getting my face and head tattooed,” he states, “I didn’t know of anyone else except for legends like Jack Dracula or Omi.” He goes on to explain how “at that time it was going over the line” but remarks that he has seen a lot of younger people with heavily tattooed faces. ”As I say in the spiel that I do, and I’ve said it a thousand times, tattoos are like potato chips-you can’t just have one.” Wilson confesses that he used to draw and paint a lot so we he was quite fascinated with conveying them on his skin.
Here are a few excerpts from that interview where he explains where his interest in sideshow came from and how he accumulated his tattoos:
“Since I was a kid, I was fascinated with sideshow and carnivals and that whole thing, and the more heavily tattooed I got, the more I was reading. I was bartending, and a tattooist told me they were looking for performers at the sideshow, and I went down to Coney Island USA and got the job that day. I already had my face tattooed. What my boss said at the time was that there were plenty of people who had their bodies tattooed, but no one had their face. So they put a big mask over me and put me outside on the stage.”
“I remember seeing a picture of Jack Dracula, and as much as I admired how he looked, I wanted something different than that. I wanted something specifically with designs instead of pictures on my face. So I started doing research.”
Photographed at the Coney Island Sideshow by Dan Nicoletta
“I had been getting tattooed by a man named Pat Maninuik in San Francisco; he tattooed me quite a bit, and also did the backs of my hands as well as the work on my arms. I went to him with this idea about getting my face tattooed and he flat refused. Then I started making this trek to tattoo parlors in California, and they all refused. Then when I heard it was outlawed in New York City, I thought I could get it here if I had the money. So I cam here and met a couple of people and went to Don Boyle and started getting tattooed. Then I went to FineLine Mike, and he was very nervous to do it because my face was pretty much unmarked. But finally he agreed, and I really got started. Other people have picked up from there.”
“Getting my face tattooed really became an obsession. I was going though all of the files and researching the tribes that tattooed their faces, and at the same time I’m smart enough to know that it was definitely going to change my life dramatically. I’m the tattooed man all the time, but one thing I’ve learned, specifically in getting my face more and more tattooed, is that during the summertime I keep my shirt on. I’ve learned to read people. Getting my face and neck tattooed was something I wanted to do. My intention isn’t to go out and shock people or get a rise out of people. It was totally personal for me. Unfortunately, I didn’t figure out how big of an effect it was going to have on other people, with them getting freaked out or angry.”
“During my spiel, I try to answer all of the questions people have about tattooing and put it in a good light and educate people. One of the reasons I had to think about it for a long time was that when I was first being introduced as the tattooed man, my boss was painting this picture of this “poor me” individual. And the more I heard him doing this spiel on me, the angrier and more dissatisfied I got. I wanted a change, so I could feel proud of my tattoos.”
“I very rarely regret having my face tattooed; I feel like I have really been out in the mainstream in terms of showing my tattoos and explaining them.”
From the Journal of Bison Jack
Touching on the topic of younger individuals who are getting facial tattoos, Wilson stated he is not one to judge but thought “it’s probably wise to be a little older and more experienced in life before you embark on a commitment like that. It can close a lot of doors. I’ve had a lot of young guys come up to me and they’re talking about sporting some tattoos on their face and I tell them that they really should be older and really think about it a lot before they choose that path.”
Certainly this allows insight as to what can motivate a person to willingly lend their body to countless hours of being penetrated by a tattoo needle. Though they are far more commonplace than in the times of those men and women who went that extra mile to showcase not only the quality and quantity of the art, but also played up their ability to endure the pain. No matter how exaggerated narratives of their origin may have been, there is sufficient evidence to document that they were in fact just as a complex human being as you or I, perhaps just a more colorful version of the same people who know, care for and love in our own lives.
Resources, Reading & Research: Made Marvels – the Tattooed Man , Captain Costentenus – Tattooed Prince, The Great Omi – Tattooed Gentleman, Of Freaks and Inks: Self-Identifying Jack Dracula, Shocked and Amazed! Volume 7
Photo credit: 1 – Atomic Books, 2 – BME Encyclopedia, 4 – Jack Dracula, 5-7 – Michael Wilson Remembered
Making a grand entrance is something that I have often enjoyed since first impressions are very important, particularly when it comes to being a performer. The aim is often to grab attention and one could certainly do that with the 
The third dress of this collection is meant to be a striking casual piece for an eccentric daytime style. Stimulated by the agile aerial artists of traditional circus, the 
As a heartbreaking character of pantomime, Pierrot pines for a lover they cannot have and serves as tragic muse for the 
The final items of this collection have been combined to create a slightly creepy yet chic look using the 
There are plenty of fashion revolutions which have appeared throughout history, and for me one of the most daring was the German Swing Youth, more commonly known as Swing Kids. During the 1930s and 40s Germany suffered under the fascist rule of the Nazis, where Adolf Hitler attempted to compel the people to follow his ideals which would prevent them from becoming influenced by international movements. Even something as harmless as dancing was considered a menace by Nazi authorities, viewed as a perilous foreign import with roots in “immoral jungle music” and a commodity calculated by the Jewish media in America. They believed that it could corrupt the youth who would be caught up in certain behaviors that yielded offspring of uncertain parentage as a result of having sex with multiple partners. Hitler decided to use the National Socialist Party to physically prevent Germany’s youngsters from straying off the Nazi path.
Swing Kids desired a connection to the swing scene, which manifested in having the correct clothing, listening to the right music, understanding slang and being able to dance. They aspired for a life that was carefree and laid-back like those in America, even though that contradicted the militarized state of Nazi Germany. A deliberate swagger was adopted in direct defiance of the approved straight marching stride, and their attitude was blamed on Jewish Hollywood movies. Swing Kids also hated the Hitler Youth, due to the fact that many used their authority to become Little Dictators, and were fully justified in their low opinion of the HJ. The Nazi solution to what it viewed as an inflated Jewish America forcing decadence upon an otherwise obedient German youth, was to ferociously block American music and culture.
The rebellion against the National Socialist Party began when the Swing Kids adopted liberated ways. They did not have an intention of effecting others politically, and they admired Western Democracies because they saw America and England as places where swing-loving individuals had the freedom to do whatever they wanted. Idle conversations with friends, developing new relationships and generally immersing oneself in the swing culture were how Swing Kids escaped from the reality of death camps and military forces that disappeared into Russia and France. Fearing the prospect of having their good lives cut short, they avoided service. Instead, they gathered around a portable gramophone and its companion set of must-have swing records, in public places or while out on a picnic. A police ordinance was put into effect during 1940 that prohibited anyone under the age of 18 to be on the street after sunset. This did not prevent determined Swing Kids, as they had counterfeit identity cards with falsified ages and dressed in an attire that made them look older. Due to a police crackdown following the Hamburg Swing Gathering, large groups were highly discouraged, and so Swing Kids took advantage of air-raid duty by utilizing the various buildings to host parties.
The lifestyle of Swing Kids was in absolute aversion to the anticipated National Socialist concept of youth, to the extent that they adopted American ideals of personal freedom, relaxed living and appreciation of the “lower races”. They were viewed as a serious threat to the Nazi philosophy which sought to isolate Germany, and their reinforced repression caused them to exhibit anti-Nazi behavior which went beyond simply provoking the Authorities. Street gangs were composed of working class youths who acquired aspects of socialist and communist traditions to construct their own character, though there were also groups such as the Edelweiss Pirates who persistently disregarded Hitler Youth norms.
The bold opposition to all things expected of them easily makes the Swing Kids a movement that I can identify with, though there was certainly severe punishment that awaited those who refused to fall in line with the Hitler Youth. Everything from their clothes and hair to the music they listened to and the words they spoke were done in defiance of the Nazis, to a point where Swing Kids openly mocked them. While the 1993 film captured the aesthetics of their lifestyle, it is seen as a typical sensationalized version loosely based on facts, with dance scenes that were certainly spectacular but not an accurate representation of moves the Swing Kids actually knew. However, I find that there are some redeeming qualities such as the soundtrack and a few very poignant scenes which are responsible for motivating me to write this article. One of them is when Christian Bale’s character is suiting up in his swing clothes, knowing full well he could be heading into potential danger. The following guide is my interpretation of this classy appearance, slightly modernized with heavy tones of decadence and an overall air of dandyism.
My introduction to this extraordinary troupe came in 2004 when I was honored with a position among their volunteer crew that assisted in their Palace of Variety which was located on 42nd Street and had been considered the last vaudeville house in Times Square. It was not only an incredible opportunity to be a part of this project, but also an intimate experience with some of the nicest people I have ever met. Their dedication and passion for the arts is something to be admired, and it is certainly not difficult to witness hours of preparation and practice succeeding to entertain audiences with ease. Presentation is a large part of performance, which is often left to who can do what the best or shout about it the loudest, but I prefer animated words delivered from a character that makes the act interesting. Throw in a visually stimulating outfit and punctuate the actions with appropriate music, make sure there is ample audience participation and that is what I consider to define a well-rounded production.
They have been together for about sixteen years, performed all across the country and continue to support circus, sideshow and other variety arts in a number of ways. There are enough people who put on this facade but are motivated by greedier desires which I feel detracts from all of the positive aspects of the community. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why the Bindlestiffs have this position in what could be argued as a fictional hierarchy, but I have seen generosity, sincerity and for a brief moment in my life I truly felt that sense of belonging among people I could relate to. The lack of judgment and genuine acts of courtesy speak volumes of their constitution and serves as an example of quality which I feel is important when representing any culture.
One of the main components of this troupe is Keith “Bindlestiff” Nelson, who has two distinct characters on stage. The first is Mr. Pennygaff, a suave smooth-talking gentleman straight from the hottest vaudeville review with the ability to charm audiences, swallow swords, juggle clubs and even presents an amazing top act. The cut of his suits are slightly exaggerated, but that is to be expected for such a caricature. The colors are primary hues that are accentuated with pinstripes or plaids. A collard shirt and matching tie, coordinating bowler and vest along with two-tone shoes complete the ensemble and it certainly stands out when there is not much else on the stage. Additionally, such items can be translated into contemporary wardrobes by obtaining well-fitted suits and key pieces that can easily be formed into a variety of looks by simply mixing and matching. The acts themselves are riveting and can be noted for great dialogue that places humor in just the right places.
The other founding member of Bindlestiff Family Cirkus is Stephanie Monseu, aka Philomena Bindlestiff. She makes an excellent ringmistress and emcee, capturing the audiences attention as they are brought into a world of imagination where circus, sideshow and other variety arts surpass imagination. Her skills include the bull whip, juggling, fire eating, walking on stilts and singing, not to mention a larger-than-life personality and quite a collection of tattoos that I personally feel prevents her from being just another stage prop as is quite common among the females in this business. Her style is both elegant and classic, not to mention that she makes quite a few of the outfits herself. From beaded evening gowns and small top hats to corsets, frilly petticoats and heels, every choice is bright, glittering and overall fits her body well, which is also quite important since ‘wardrobe malfunctions’ are only cute when they are part of a burlesque routine.
From the first moment I ever set eyes on Tyler Fyre at the Coney Island Sideshows By the Seashore, it was obvious this man knew what class and style was without any shadow of a doubt. His stage presence was the first I can remember being exposed to, and it was just as impressive as the clothes he wore. As the legend goes, his career began as an outside talker and then eventually moved inside the building that was once home to the Dreamland Circus Sideshow where he performed the Human Blockhead, sword swallowing and a stunning fire eating routine to Man Or Astroman? He teamed up with Keith Bindlestiff for a brief show called Lucky Stiff at the Pussycat Lounge in 2004, and I attended a few of these shows that featured sideshow, burlesque and a whole lot of debauchery. His Lucky Devil Circus Sideshow morphed into the Lucky Devil Thrillshow which he shares with his lovely wife Thrill Kill Jill. While I am not here to write a biography of Tyler’s career, I just wanted to make note of the fact I had the chance to interact with him on several occasions and always found him to be quite the polite gentleman. It’s not just the clothes or the acts he presents on stage; he is a true showman and hence the reason I find he is suitable to serve as an example of Carny Style.
a combination which immediately grabs the eyes and commands attention. While he has sported other styles over the years, this one I feel best fits the character and personality that he portrays. Even though he is noted as a brilliant sword swallower and master of fire, he has never lost the ability of being silver-tongued and provides a flawless pitch every time he opens his mouth that is quite reminiscent of the old school talkers. They were always sharply dressed, often with a straw hat or bamboo cane which they used to draw in curious crowds. Transitioning from the bally stage to the main one require refinement and results in ensuring that spectators will have something appealing to look at. The suit is as timeless as sideshow itself, and for me, Tyler wears it effortlessly whether he’s sliding solid steel into his stomach or flirting with fire.
Thrill Kill Jill certainly makes for sultry eye candy, especially wearing a corset and swallowing a sword. She also creates bright fire balls and dances with deadly serpents, and at all time remains demure even though she’s showing off skin. Unfortunately sex sells over talent, but I do believe there is a way to exude sensuality and make use of certain assets without coming off like a cheap stage prop. While not everyone will agree with my opinion, I understand the point of having a lovely lady to seduce the audience with glittering costumes that don’t leave much to the imagination. However, it can also be done in a way that’s not focusing entirely on the T’n'A, and I feel that Jill pulls that off wonderfully in a red and black corset paired with coordinating bustle. bra and heeled shoes. She has a gypsy look as well for the snake charming, and while I have seen quite a few performers sporting similar belly dancing costumes, her raven locks and pale skin are reminiscent of the old school tattoo flash of a gypsy woman in profile.
Together, Tyler and Jill make an aesthetically pleasing couple whether they are on stage or posing for a publicity photo. Their firey red outfits are a testament to both their skills and personalities, and while I have yet to actually see them perform together live, they are without a doubt one of the pairings in sideshow. In fact, they have the honor of ranking high among the Carny Trash Aristocracy for their incredible showmanship, fabulous style and what seems like one hell of an entertaining show. From my few interactions and what I have heard, they are amazingly wonderful people, which is rare to find in a business that is rampant with shit talking and other juvenile behavior. It is for all these reasons and possibly even more that I am unable to think of at this moment that I selected them as the subjects for the premiere of this article, setting the standard of class and elegance for sideshow performers.
