Tattooed with Two Hundred and Fifty Designs.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 234, 26 July 1902, Page 4

Tattooed with Two Hundred and Fifty Designs.

O'to Sj uui-l r ., a nme it) Gorman hospital in America, j s said to be the mo3t elaborately frescoed individual in existence, not excepting Fiji Islanders. All over his body there ore hideous dragons, coiling serpents, brightly-coloured fish, frogs, ana butteraies, birds of gorgeous plumage, beautiful landscapes and flowers, together with several dainty figures of Japanese maidens, These entirely hide the white skio land make his body a work of art to be wondered at. THE COURSE OF OPERATIONS. The work of designing has been carried out by a professor, and during the time of operations he used 10 go to the studio every morn. ing regularly at eight o'clock and submit to the pricking of the needle until twelve. Then he rested one hour, and went back to remain until sometimes s-vea 1 o'clock in the evening. His en- ' dumnco was remarkable. Only once did lie cry "enough," and that was \vh n a design was Iteing pricked on the tender skin under his right a-m. Even then his call to stop came only after two hours of suffering under the little c^aseless stinging pain of the electric needle. Mr Schmidt was not onh the greatest tattooed mm in the " world from point of design, but the lii st man ever to be tattooed "entirely in colours. Six prim,irj colours —red, brown, green, yellow, blue, and Indian ink—are used in the colour scheme, all strong and bright on the skin, giving an offal such as has never before been seen in tattoo designs. There is no hare hanging over the figures to make them half-way obscure, as has often been noticed in tattooing heretofore. Every line if clean cut, and every colour stands out as clearly and 'distinctly a 3 a picture painted upon canvas or printed upon a piece of cardboard, Another point to be noticed is thai around the figures there is no - " filling in," no background of blue dots, which is a characteristic . feature of the most tattooed men, TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DESIGNS. r Two hundred and fifty designs • adorn his body, filling practically ail the space between his neck and n the soles of his feet. Two large highly - coloured - dragons, extending from the thigh to the ankle bone, fill the space on the outside of each leg, whilst on the inside above the knees are two <u portraits of Japanese women iniro colours, which are examples of t 1 perfection in tattooing never before r reached. Two more Japanese women designs appear on the back of each forearm. The ankles are adorned with swallows and storki. The principal design, however, is .! drawn upon the back, filling all the 0 space between the shoulders and >, the waist. It is the scene of a '> battle in mid-air between two largi , eagles over a goat in the possession g of one of the birds. Each eagle 3 measures about eight inches front ? tip to tip, and every feather is at 1 carefully drawn as one would expect s to find it in a steel engraving. ■ Below the combatants is a piece of != mountain landscape extending . round the body on each side of tbi | big shield, and demon heads are on e the breast. Around the neck a shining set* ; pent is coiled, with head and tail 1 tied in a knot on the breast. Off [ on the right and left shoulders are found two more full length Japaj 3 nese figures. The right shoulder ' carries a large butterfly of extrata* \ gant colouring and the left beautiful Japanese sunfisb.

DRAGON AND EAGLE BATTLING. Another striking design is found upon the stomach. It represents* dragon and eagle in battle. Tbl figure of the eagle is very larp and well executed, while the draffing and colouring of the dragon make it a wonder in the art ol tattooing. Over a hundred mote minor figures have been prickd into Schmidt's skin.

Mr Schmidt is a native of Getmany, having been born there 28 years ago. He proposes to go on tour, exhibiting himself in tba principal museums, and then to return to his native land te spew the most of his remaining days ol his life.