We all know that tattoos are nothing new. They've been around since the dawn of time....in fact we know that tattoos were used back in the neolithic period in the 4th or 5th millenium b.c. But in Europe, tattoos were really established in more mainstream culture in the 18th century when sailors brought the art of Polynesian tatau back to Europe, mispronouncing it tattoo.

I love older tattoos and ancient tattoo designs, especially the more tribal designs, but I also love the Victorian era pictures of women with tattoos. We always associate victorian times with very stiff morals and carefull etiquette.....tattoos, one would think, would be the furthest from their minds. So here are a few very cool old pics of Victorian women and their tattoos. 

Some of these older images are fantastic, though sadly, the tattoos details are hard to pic out, but there are some familiar motifs; dragons, roses, cupids and hearts. Love the demure pic of the lady in her underwear, doing a small courtsey with a whole body tat underneath