--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tattooing was a fine art in these…" description: "\"“Tattooing was a fine art in these islands. In those days it was almost universal among sailors, to a greater or less extent. It was not long before th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/john-d-whidden-48887_art_tattooing-was-a-fine-art-in-these-island_1049563.jpg" --- # Tattooing was a fine art in these islands. In those days… ![“Tattooing was a fine art in these islands. In those days it was almost universal among sailors, to a greater or less extent. It was not long before the crew found an old native who was a past master in the art, and before the ship sailed I do not think there was a member of the crew upon whom he…” quote by John D. Whidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/john-d-whidden-48887_art_tattooing-was-a-fine-art-in-these-island_1049563.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/john-d-whidden-48887_art_tattooing-was-a-fine-art-in-these-island_1049563.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/john-d-whidden-48887_art_tattooing-was-a-fine-art-in-these-island_1049563.jpg) > ““Tattooing was a fine art in these islands. In those days it was almost universal among sailors, to a greater or less extent. It was not long before the crew found an old native who was a past master in the art, and before the ship sailed I do not think there was a member of the crew upon whom he had not exercised his skill. The specimens of his work on my arms today, although nearly sixty years have elapsed, are as fresh and bright as when first put in.”” [John D. Whidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-whidden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Tattooing served as a shared cultural art among sailors, preserving identity and camaraderie across voyages. **In simple terms:** Sailors used tattoos to mark experiences and belong. Key Takeaway Embrace shared rituals to strengthen group bonds. Themes culture identity tradition art community Mood nostalgic reflective Type historical cultural When to use this quote - naval life - military service - travel - personal storytelling Key Concepts symbolism body art heritage Questions to Reflect On - How do shared symbols shape group identity? - What personal meanings do you assign to your tattoos? A Different Perspective May overlook individual agency in favor of conformity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Fine art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-art/) [Sailors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sailors/) [Tattoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tattoo/) [Tattooing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tattooing/) ## Related quotes > [“Tattooing, when understood in its entirety, must be seen as a religious act. The human being brings forth images from the center of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-webb/tattooing-when-understood-in-its-entirety-must-be-seen-as-a-religious/) Spider Webb > [I guess it would be nice to be remembered as a good friend to everyone and a dedicated artist to tattooing. I definitely want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-von-d/i-guess-it-would-be-nice-to-be-remembered-as-a-good-friend-to/) [Kat Von D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-von-d/) > [“The childish and savage taste of men and women for new patterns keeps how many shaking and squinting through kaleidoscopes that they may discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-childish-and-savage-taste-of-men-and-women-for-new-patterns-keeps/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Painting and tattooing the body is a return to animalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/painting-and-tattooing-the-body-is-a-return-to-animalism/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I'll repeat something you might consider tattooing on your forehead: What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ll-repeat-something-you-might-consider-tattooing-on-your-forehead/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Growing up with a punk-rock background and being an artist all my life, tattooing was something that naturally came to me, I guess. Tattooing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-von-d/growing-up-with-a-punk-rock-background-and-being-an-artist-all-my/) [Kat Von D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-von-d/) > [There is no other art medium like tattooing in the world. When the customer comes in with a basic idea, it is up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-webb/there-is-no-other-art-medium-like-tattooing-in-the-world-when-the/) [William Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-webb/) > [“The goal of tattooing was never beauty. The goal was change. From the scarified Nubian priests of 2000 B.C., to the tattooed acolytes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-goal-of-tattooing-was-never-beauty-the-goal-was-change-from-the/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“I had a sudden understanding of tattooing's true appeal: It's Troll-collecting for biker types.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-trachtenberg/i-had-a-sudden-understanding-of-tattooing-s-true-appeal-it-s-troll/) [Peter Trachtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-trachtenberg/) > [Tattooing is historical, cultural and a great form of art but it should always be safe for both the client and the tattoo practitioner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-webb/tattooing-is-historical-cultural-and-a-great-form-of-art-but-it/) [William Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-webb/) > [“Sometimes you have to go a little crazy before you can find sanity. I think I'm close.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tawny-lara/sometimes-you-have-to-go-a-little-crazy-before-you-can-find-sanity-i/) Tawny Lara > [“Tattoos are a permanent commitment of passion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tawny-lara/tattoos-are-a-permanent-commitment-of-passion/) Tawny Lara > [I dropped out of high school when I was 14 and I started tattooing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-von-d/i-dropped-out-of-high-school-when-i-was-14-and-i-started-tattooing/) [Kat Von D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-von-d/) > [I'm very superstitious, and I think it's bad luck. You don't have to show your love by tattooing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priya-sachdev/i-m-very-superstitious-and-i-think-it-s-bad-luck-you-don-t-have-to/) [Priya Sachdev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priya-sachdev/) > [It's not always the style of tattooing but the rather the subject matter that drives me. I love tattooing anything from mythology to comic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-webb/it-s-not-always-the-style-of-tattooing-but-the-rather-the-subject/) [William Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-webb/) ## More by John D. Whidden > [“I loved to steer the ship, and in a short time became an expert helmsman. What glorious weather one experiences within the limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-whidden/i-loved-to-steer-the-ship-and-in-a-short-time-became-an-expert/) [John D. Whidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-whidden/) > [“With the words, “We commit the body to the deep,” the end of the plank was lifted, and the hammock, heavily weighted at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-whidden/with-the-words-we-commit-the-body-to-the-deep-the-end-of-the-plank/) [John D. Whidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-whidden/) > [“We sailed from Coquimbo with a strong northerly wind, and passed the latitude of Cape Horn in ten or twelve days from port, when,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-whidden/we-sailed-from-coquimbo-with-a-strong-northerly-wind-and-passed-the/) [John D. Whidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-whidden/) > [“One fine morning the welcome cry of “Land, ho!” greeted our ears, and ere long Tahiti and Moorea were in plain sight. Beautiful Otaheite!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-whidden/one-fine-morning-the-welcome-cry-of-land-ho-greeted-our-ears-and-ere/) [John D. Whidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-whidden/) > [“About dusk the land breeze came off, sweeping over the ship, laden with the fragrance of tropical fruits and flowers so heavy with perfume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-whidden/about-dusk-the-land-breeze-came-off-sweeping-over-the-ship-laden-with/) [John D. Whidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-whidden/) > [“Deep in the wave is a coral grove, Where the purple mullet and gold fish rove, Where the sea flower spreads its leaves of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-whidden/deep-in-the-wave-is-a-coral-grove-where-the-purple-mullet-and-gold/) [John D. Whidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-whidden/) > [“In the morning light the scene was beyond compare. The mountains and the hills were bathed in the soft light of the coming day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-whidden/in-the-morning-light-the-scene-was-beyond-compare-the-mountains-and/) [John D. Whidden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-whidden/) [Explore all 8 John D. Whidden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-whidden/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. 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