Ink Fetish Fridays can be traced back to the beginning of time, or at least the beginning of tattoos, as proven in this vintage picture of a fully inked vixen- fishnets and all!! As far as the US is involved, the first permanent tattoo shop in New York city was settled up in 1846 and began a tradition by tattooing military servicemen from both sides of the civil war (and probably some women as well). Samuel O'reilly invented the electric tattooing machine in 1891.