orig. circa 1910 ITINERANT ELECTRIC TATTOO ARTIST TATTOO KIT & STENCILS

Description

For sale is an extraordinary, original circa 1900-1920 itinerant tattoo artist box. A metal plaque on the box reads "Tattooing Expert Louis Green," with the initials "LG" scratched on the side of the box. The box measures 20 inches across by 11 inches high and 8 inches deep. The metalwork on the key latch on the front, with its asymmetric floral design, looks a little bit Art Nouveau. The plugs on the back, likely for the use of an electric tattoo inker, are of an early Hubbell type with two parallel sockets (see photos), invented in the first few years of the 1900s. By 1915, the tandem socket that we use today (also invented by Hubbell) had become the dominant socket. The Nouveau metalwork coupled with the age of the plug suggests an age of around 1900-1915, although it is possible (I would say unlikely, though) that the box predates that and that the electrical sockets were added later.
The box is missing a latch on one side which makes opening and closing the box a bit of work. Internally, it is also missing a rail on one side that likely made the front of the box fold out. There are parallel recesses on the inside of the box that suggest it once had internal drawers, but those are long gone. I found a few interesting things inside the box, including a metal vial, possibly for holding ink, and three tattoo stencils, on a hard, rather primitive early plastic, one very tiny one of a bird, another of a woman wearing headwear featuring a human skull, and another of a two hands shaking in front of a heart.
I acquired this at a regional auction house in Maryland. I have tried to Google information about Green, with no luck. I would certainly welcome any information that someone may be willing to share about him! An extraordinary example of an early, itinerant Tattooist's mobile electric kit... I can find scant evidence of other extant examples in existence. Perfect decor for a tattoo shop, and possibly even museum worthy owing to its scarcity.