Martin Hildebrandt @ First American Tattooer #1

Martin Hildebrandt @ First American Tattooer - Tattoo Series #1

In 2010, I began an apprenticeship to learn tattooing at Celebrity Tattoo, in Lakewood, Colorado. The owner, Zeke, took a chance and let me learn the craft. After nearly 2 years of scrubbing floors, cleaning, sweeping, washing windows, cleaning, drawing (lots of drawing), cleaning, and practicing, I became a tattooer. Sadly, in 2017, I gave up my dream. But learning the art and history of tattooing has given me a gift to share with you. I hope you enjoy this series.

January 16th, 1890, tattooer Martin Hildebrandt passed away in the New York City Asylum for the Insane on Wards Island. He was 65 years old. Hildebrandt started tattooing in 1846 as a sailor aboard the frigate United States. Through extensive archival research, I found records listing Hildebrandt as tattooing in New York City from as far back as 1859. During the Civil War, Hildebrandt served with the Army of the Potomac, and is quoted as saying of his time in the service:

During war times I never had a moment's idle time. I must have marked thousands of sailors and soldiers [...] I put the names of hundreds of soldiers on their arms or breasts, and many were recognized by these marks after being killed or wounded. (The New York Times: January 16, 1876).

After the war, in 1875, Hildebrandt tattooed at 77 James Street at the corner of Oak, in Lower Manhattan. The New York Times describes it as "a tavern, with a well sanded floor, and on the walls hung pictures..." Beginning in 1880, Hildebrandt tattooed at 36 1/2 Oak Street, described this way in the Times: "Alongside the door of a house in Oak Street is a framed sign bearing an elaborately-executed and vividly-colored Goddess of Liberty, with the equally glaringly-tinted words underneath, 'Tattooing done here by Martin Hildebrandt.'"

Hildebrandt was married to Mary Hildebrandt, the union producing one son named Frank. In 1882, a woman tattooed by Hildebrandt exhibited in Bunnell's dime museum on the Bowery as the first "tattooed lady," and identified by the name Nora Hildebrandt. [Nora took his surname and was assumed to be Hildebrandt's daughter or wife, but was in fact born in England and was neither married nor related to Martin.] Martin is known to have tattooed a handful of other tattooed ladies who worked as attractions in dime museums in New York and worked in shows that traveled the world.

The last mention of Hildebrandt is on June 20th, 1885 in The New York Clipper, under "Circus and Sideshow News": "Martin Hildebrand (sic) the tattooer of this city, whose wife is with a circus, was on June 10 sent to jail for disorderly conduct. His son charges that he is insane and he is to be transferred to an asylum."

History tells us that the concept of self-branding was embraced fully in England in the 1860s after the Prince of Wales marked himself with a cross, partaking in a Medieval ritual. Meanwhile, the art of ink was in its fledgling stages in America. Martin Hildebrandt, considered one of the country’s first tattoo artists, opened a shop in New York City in 1870, making tattoos accessible for citizens who weren’t able to travel overseas. But before Hildebrandt’s business — which involved training apprentices — fully took off, most tattooed Americans were soldiers inking up for good luck, emblazoning themselves with reminders of their lives back home.

American tattoo art’s initial function as a sort of patriotic act inspired many styles that would come to define it. Artist Paul Rogers, owner of a trailer that came to be known as the Iron Factory, got his start tattooing soldiers with eagles and other winged creatures. He’d go on to influence Ed Hardy and others, both with his technology and his aesthetic, which included American flags, plump hearts and buxom women. And, although the U.S. Navy disapproved of pinup tattoos for a period, they were still popular among its members. Those would-be soldiers with tattoos that were deemed inappropriate due to nudity would go so far as to add clothes to their preexisting inked ladies.

Stage 1:

If Hildebrant tattooed at Hildebrandt tattooed at 36 1/2 Pine Street, then go to

N 39° 45.184 W 105° 02.858

If Hildebrand was placed in an insane asylum, then go to

N39 44.398 W105 07.799

If Hildebrand’s wife was Nora Hildebrandt, then go to

N 39° 40.100 W 104° 55.656

At the correct coordinates, you will see a sign for a long standing tattoo shop. Use the name on the sign to interpret the following coordinates for the final.

N39 AB.CDE W104 FG.HJK

A= First letter
B= Fourth letter plus fifth letter
C= First letter plus second letter
D= Fourth letter plus fifth letter
E= Sixth letter minus seventh letter
F= Fifth letter multiplied by fifth letter
G= Third letter minus third letter
H= First letter minus fifth letter
J= Sixth letter divided by first letter
K= Sixth letter divided by first letter

Grabbing this geocache will require you to go off the trail and balance while you cross a small river. The ground is uneven, and wildlife abounds. You might see deer, pronghorns, raccoons, and foxes. Be careful of rattlesnakes and enormous reptiles.

Congratulations to Herndonrd for the FTF! 26/108

Additional Waypoints

017RG15 - Stage 2
N/S __ ° __ . ___ W/E ___ ° __ . ___

P07RG15 - Parking
N 39° 38.311 W 104° 40.463