"Tattoo U.S.A." Brass tube with hula dancers.

[Iron Buzz]

Not a big deal, but I'm wondering if anybody has seen anything like this before or maybe has some idea what it was. It is a small brass or copper tube, about the diameter of a pencil, and closed on one end, open on the other. There are four or five simple drawings half naked (bare-breasted) women in grass skirts etched into the sides, and at the bottom, below a decorative band, are the words "TATTOO" on one line, and "U.S.A" below that. 1" long, and 1/2" across the (flattened) diameter.

It is hard to make out the writing in those pictures, but you can kind of make it out in the 2nd one.

 

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[jewelerguy]

part of a lipstick case

 

[Iron Buzz]

part of a lipstick case

View attachment 1612603

Excellent! I knew this forum could find it. May I ask how you found it? I thought I had good Google skills, but any way I tried to word it, I would get pages of actual tattoos of hula dancers.

 

[GB1]

that was a very uh exposed detailing they put on there

 

[jewelerguy]

Excellent! I knew this forum could find it. May I ask how you found it? I thought I had good Google skills, but any way I tried to word it, I would get pages of actual tattoos of hula dancers.

I suspected right off that it was a lipstick based on the shape, and I had heard of the 'Tattoo' brand before. I googled 'vintage tattoo lipstick' to find the pic for you, however it was mixed deep in pics of tattoos of lipstick..... LOL! I'm pretty sure it's 1950's

 

[Iron Buzz]

I suspected right off that it was a lipstick based on the shape, and I had heard of the 'Tattoo' brand before. I googled 'vintage tattoo lipstick' to find the pic for you, however it was mixed deep in pics of tattoos of lipstick..... LOL! I'm pretty sure it's 1950's

Styling on that ad looks more like 20's or 30's to me.

Lipstick tube also occurred to me when I first dug it (once I realized that it wasn't a brass cartridge shell) but then thought better of it because of its size. But tiny purses were a thing in the 20's and 30's. Big purses were, well... "big"... in the 1950's.

Thanks again!

 

[jewelerguy]

Styling on that ad looks more like 20's or 30's to me.

Lipstick tube also occurred to me when I first dug it (once I realized that it wasn't a brass cartridge shell) but then thought better of it because of its size. But tiny purses were a thing in the 20's and 30's. Big purses were, well... "big"... in the 1950's.

Thanks again!

you're probably right about it being older than 50's..... I did a little searching and found this web site that has some Tattoo cosmetics advertisements and the ones shown date mostly from the late 1930's ..... https://witness2fashion.wordpress.c...ur-lips-ads-for-tattoo-brand-cosmetics-1930s/

 

[Iron Buzz]

you're probably right about it being older than 50's..... I did a little searching and found this web site that has some Tattoo cosmetics advertisements and the ones shown date mostly from the late 1930's ..... https://witness2fashion.wordpress.c...ur-lips-ads-for-tattoo-brand-cosmetics-1930s/

Those are some rather risque ads!

 

[GB1]

Those are some rather risque ads!

that is why i did not click on the ads

 

[Iron Buzz]

that is why i did not click on the ads

Well... they're not THAT risque. Just kind of sultry.

 

[GB1]

yea but when your browsing the internet for research you won't believe what you come across