Here’s some interesting things I’ve learnt about french prison tattoos
(My sources are not from the era I’m interested in, they’re too modern. 1880’s onwards and seem to contradict what little I could find about tattooing by inmates in Les mis, (Hugo describes people in the chain gang as heavily tattooed with hearts and cupid motives, while these “scientific” criminal profiling books from the 80’s state that tattooing by forçats themselves became a thing only after the state forbade branding, and a sort of pride in prison culture developed itself with prisoners sort of branding themselves with amateur tattoos that revealed to the connoisseur in which prison they had served time, making it impossible to be respected in certain spaces if you had no tattoos)(curiously balzac also describes a heart motive in blue ink, in the chest of a soldier belonging to a secret society, Vidocq fleetingly mentions a tattoo on an inmate who was an ex soldier). So here’s what I found. The trends described in the books from the 80’s may be too new to be relevant to les mis and la comedie humaine:
-the Papillon motive made famous by Henri Charrière usually came with the inscription “come lui, je vôle” a pun on the word voler that means to fly and to steal. It was apparently a very divulged design and immediately marked the wearer as (wait for it) a robber
-In the hunt for specifically queer culture tattoos mentioned by Lacassagne* in his research, Émile Laurent interviewed an inmate who had a penis drawn in his forearm. Remember the Magritte painting Ceci n’est pas un pipe? Well this guy insisted the penis design *was* a pipe and not a penis. Of course the power imbalance between interviewer and interviewee made him finally admit that yes, it was a penis his cellmate and lover had tattooed on him as a farewell gift. This man also had a heart with a dagger in his chest. Our police researcher thought that was soo gay and asked if that refered to his sexual orientation. An answer couldn’t be forced out of him this time (good for him)
- Some men had the T.F. brand tattooed on them to evoke the legendary forçats of old
There’s a lot more, prostitutes were also frequently tattooed by ex lovers, their pimps or sometimes themselves. The tattoos involved ex lovers/pimps’ names (which was reported as an annoyance to the women, who sometimes had the tattoos removed or covered) others had text tattoos near erogenous zones broadcasting their sexual prowess.
*still haven’t got to the part where he mentions this.
Sources: (also in anyone can point out a more date relevant book on the subject please tell me)(links are nsfw: nudity, drawings of genitals)
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k754837/f524.item (chapter on tattoos begins in page 505. This book is incredibly vile in it’s essensialist takes on criminal nature)
https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=PRFQAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Les+tatouages:+%C3%A9tude+anthropologique+et+m%C3%A9dico-l%C3%A9gale+alexandre+lacassagne&hl=es&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false (Lacassagne’s book, apparently the authority on prisoner tattoos)
And finally, here’s a modern day book that collects late 1880 photos of prisoners tattoos (you can download a sample chapter in the link, just click on “télécharger” and then on “extrait”) https://www.lamanufacturedelivres.com/livres/fiche/25/pierrat-jerome-mauvais-garcons
Les habitués des prisons de Paris : étude d'anthropologie et de psychologie criminelles / par le Dr Émile Laurent,... ; préface de M. le Dr
Les tatouages
Une galerie unique de photos d’identité judiciaire prises lors des arrestations du début du XXe siècle. En mettant à nu les truands, elles d
Most of these are pretty obvious but I decided to make a comprehensive guide to all of EB’s tattoos mostly for me to go nuts with symbolism,
1. Tudor rose getting cut with a sword (a dig at the bloodshed under the Tudor dynasty)
2. Skull and cross bones with crown (Anger at the crown)
3. Tribal fire tattoo (One of EB’s early tattoos, not as detailed or meaningful as the others)
4. Dove of peace shot with an arrow (Mercy means nothing if the other side still wants war)
5. Cobweb (Common prison tattoo, means being trapped and can symbolize a long sentence)
6. Skull with Pope’s hat and staff (Anger at the Catholic church
7. THOU SHALT NOT KILL (Part of EB’s honor code, EB has a history of violence but is no murderer)
8. Chi Ro (Old Catholic symbol)
9. A.K.A.B (Like ACAB but this time it’s ‘All Kings Are Bastards’)
10. Five skulls on spikes (each one for the five other men who hanged and had their heads displayed alongside her)
11. White horse of Kent plus motto (Part of the Arms of Kent county, general symbol for the whole area)
12. Grim reaper (holding crossed sword and axe, Anne and Kats deaths respectively)
13. Noose
14. Ichthys (Another Christian symbol)
15. All seeing eye, but it’s blind
16. Catholic Rosary
17. Horse skeleton with broken back (A subtle dig at Henry, in his later years he was so heavy he had to be lifted onto his horse with a crane, he also brought dressage to England)
