Olive Oatman by Benjamin F. Powelson (58 State St, Rochester, NY), ca. 1863
Olive Oatman (1838–1903) was the first tattooed white woman in the U.S. After her family was killed by Yavapais Indians, on a trip West in the eighteen-fifties, she was adopted and raised by Mohave Indians, who gave her a traditional tribal tattoo. When she was ransomed back, at age nineteen, she became a celebrity.
CDV by Powelson, Rochester, NY, with inked identification (or possible signature?) Olive Oatman / Rochesteron verso. She wears a dark dress, with vertical lines tattooed on her chin, a clear indication of her time as a captive. She appears a few years older than she does in the more commonly seen images.
Via: WikiCommons, The New Yorker, Sharlot, Arizona Historical Society, Live Auctioneers
