Granger 10
- This article is a Biography
- Chapter 10 - Facial adornments
London Life had correspondence on all kinds subjects, quite a bit was on the subject of' tattooing, a very ancient form of body adornment, usually adopted by the male sex. However there were letters in it from women who had either become attracted to it, or had it forced upon them by their husbands or lovers. Sometimes photos were there to prove what they said; of dainty flowers, butterflies and mottoes on arms, legs, busts and backs, but usually in places that could be covered by clothes. But some went to the limits possible. Having tattooed all the normally used parts, they carried the tattooing down to hands, fingers, the feet, neck and private parts. Having gone so far they took the last steps by having tattoos on their faces, cheeks, foreheads and chins, then becoming harem wives, under a veil if they went out.
However there was another angle to this, for an article described how women wore achieving permanent make up, by having their cheek complexions tattooed, new lip shapes formed and permanently coloured, even eye brows and shadow put on with the tattooing needle. There was a picture in the paper of the well known George Burchett, tattooist of Waterloo Road and his wife, who was decorated from head to feet with his artistic work.
Ethel disliked tattooing but I did talk her into consent to consider this permanent form of make up at some time. The price for cheeks, lips and eyes was £20, or we could have each done separately, and pay as we went, £10 for the cheeks, £6 for the lips, and £4 for the eyes. The day came some time later, when I could afford these charges, so we paid a visit to Mr Burchett's studio to have her cheeks done. He was a real artist, taking great pains with his work. He worked back and forth over first one cheek, then the other, and back again, adding the tint as he went. There was a local anaesthetic mixed in with the colouring matter on the needle, so Ethel said she felt very little except a tickling sensation. The worst part was at the beginning, to get her courage screwed up the point to let him begin. I watched him working back and forth over her cheeks giving then a beautiful natural looking flush which would be there for ever. When he had finished he told us that there would be a scab to come off in about a week, and to apply Witch Hazel to soothe the pain that would come as the effect of the local anaesthetic wore off. For several days afterwards they were painful until the scab came off, during which time she kept out of sight. When it was all over she had a beautiful delicate flush on each cheek which would be there for life.
The second trip to do her lips came some time later, when she could screw up her courage to have it done. In fact, even after she got there it was quite a time, and after a lot of coaxing, that she would sit down for the operation. This time he told her she must have an injection of local anaesthetic in each lip, and it was a job to get her to keep still while he drove the hypodermic needle along under the surface of first one lip, then the other. When this was done she told us that her lip and cheeks felt numbed, so she was ready to begin. The colour was now put on very heavily and thick, to give the colour he wanted, and her lips now began to take on a delightful Cupid's bow shape. When it was all over her lips took on a very heavy scarlet red and were swollen up to a delicious pout.
The lips were very painful for a week, until the scab came off, taking a lot of the colour with it. He had said that she would probably need a second application, and also another touch up on her cheeks, but as the war came, we never did go for it, nor to have her eyes done either, more's the pity, but her lips are, and always will be a good colour, for the tattoo is there O.K. I wanted her to have some more tattoos done but she refused, while the war stopped our visits to London to go on with it, or I would have had designs on her breasts, back and maybe arms and legs.
The middle hole in each ear lobe had been made deliberately for enlargement, so that eventually she would be able to wear a large pair of thick rings when she or I wished to do so, as this type of clip on earring was fashionable at that time, but I waited for the real thing, not a fake. So after the piercings had become fully established, I took out the thick silver wires, which she had been wearing as sleepers. These had been fully 1/16" thick and left nice clear holes, which I decided to enlarge by 1/32" inch to give holes of 3/32" inch diameter. A tapering spear was made into the end of which would screw a small hemispherical headed silver stud, 3/32" in diameter. Wetting and greasing the spear I gently worked it into the piercing with a twisting motion. It was not too easy and did hurt her fiendishly, but at last it was home carrying the stud with it through the flesh up to the fullness of the head, after which the nut was screwed on at the back. Then the other ear was done in a similar fashion. The operation was far more painful than one would expect, but there was very little pain after the second day, for the flesh by then had adapted itself to the stretching caused by the spears.
I gave these studs a pause of 3 months continual wear, so on removal there were two very obvious holes to be seen. Another tapering spear with a final size of 1/8 inch was inserted and forced home in the same fashion as before, leaving silver studs 1/8" thick in place, and after wearing these continually for some time there was now a pair of very barbaric holes visible in the centre of each dainty car lobe; ready and waiting to receive the next spear and pair of studs. These were made 5/32" at the end of the with a sliver stud of that size, with a small diamante head. Ethel sweated and moaned as these were inexorably driven home, but they looked very attractive when done, and settled down in a few days, to be forgotten for a month or two.
We continued this process at regular intervals. Each time we stretched the hole by no more than 1/32 inch, but as we went on the small difference had less effect in the piercing's appearance, was easier to do and not so painful. When the studs came out there was a large hole, through which daylight could be seen. Into these holes we put solid rings, plated with gold, about 1 1/8" in diameter and 5/32" thick. They were very barbaric, for they were smaller than the holes and so dragged the piercings down into loops with daylight showing above each ring. Anyone could now see there were large piercings through each ear.
However we did not stop there; another couple of stretchings brought the holes up to 1/4 inch in diameter and into to these large holes we put two large rings, made of solid copper, actually small Bull Rings that were silver plated, very heavy, hinged and the joint made with a small screw, so that once put in Ethel could not get them out. They were most attractive, dragging down her ear lobes and swinging freely in the holes, which soon began to stretch from the weight. Both the other two piercings in each ear were fitted with jewelled studs, so the ears very barbaric. People wondered how they ware worn, but as at first they fitted well, few would guess that these rings ½ inch thick, and nearly 2 inches in diameter, went right through the flesh.
Even this size did not satisfy us, so we stretched them with plastic Xylonite studs to 5/16" and these studs could be worn with a pendant hanging from the holes on each side. Now, if she wore the rings it could be clearly seen that they went right through, for they hung in a loop of flesh, with daylight showing above them. I suppose some people were horrified, but we loved these savage ornaments and adornments.
I next made two heavy brass eyelets with a centre hole to take the ½" rings. These eyelets were about 3/8" in diameter across the widest part in the lobe, and I had them heavily gold plated. When we at last got them home and settled in, the holes were enormous when they were removed for a short time. Sometimes the eyelets were worn with the rings through, and at other times with the holes empty, showing the light, shining through, like a jewel, and no one could mistake the fact that there was a huge hole through each car lobe. Later I made some 5/16" thick rings to wear through the piercings when the eyelets wore removed, and these showed off the large loops of flesh.
Finally we fitted a huge pair of eyelets, 7/16" diameter, these would take the 5/16" rings through the centre hole. When they were removed I could insert the tip of my little finger through the lobes. I would have liked to have gone further, but now found that the stretchings had made the flesh dangerously thin near the outer edges, so we were forced to rest here, content with this size. Afterwards I was to wish that I had left off at the 3/8" size, while the edges were stronger with this particular pair of piercings.
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