Old tattoo photos

[Graeme]

Thanks for that @taaarro

[Tatspiration]

So crazy what time does to tattoos.

[temporarytattoo]

Old tattoos are mostly the precious one and the shared old tattoo images are quite very good one.

[Cork]

I do not know the source, but I thought this was awesome.

[JoeJett]

Ohhhhh man, tough

So cool

[kylegrey]

Classic Ron Ackers .

[sophistre]

I just spent two hours reading this thread and looking at the amazing stuff in it. It just reinforces how little I actually know about the recent(ish) history of tattooing. So fascinating.

I'd contribute my stepdad's tattoos, but I'm not sure he'd let me take pictures of them -- I think he's self-conscious about them. He was placed in an orphanage in Chicago along with several of his siblings in what had to be the early 40s...and at some point got his hands on a bottle of ink and decided to tattoo not only himself but most of his siblings, too. The Sisters at the orphanage finally caught him, though, so some of them escaped, heh. I was always amazed he didn't have any from his time in the Army, since he lied about his age to get in (maybe he does, and just didn't tell me about them). Just crazy stories about backing a tank into an officer's car, and playing drums in Chicago with all-black jazz bands before that was a comfortable thing for a young Italian guy to do.

[MadeIndelible]

Saw some old Phil Simms tattoos today on an old bearded guy. He said he got them in Belmont. I forgot to ask when he got them, but they looked like they were from the 80s.

[SStu]

on my Uncle-in-Law. artist unknown but done on Market St in 1955:

[taaarro]

I do not know the source, but I thought this was awesome.

I like the combination of tough hands and Doraemon cartoon characters!

[Orangutango]

Can't recall which part of the internet I found this on, was in a folder marked random, nice photo though!

[kylegrey]

From the 1920's

[misterJ]

3 of them cooler than I will ever be. Nice photo I love stuff like this.

[hogg]

on my Uncle-in-Law. artist unknown but done on Market St in 1955:

Market Street in San Francisco? If so, I have a hunch as to who did them.

[SStu]

@hogg - Yep. He's probably late '70s or 80 years old now - so I suspect he probably got it mid-1950's or thereabouts.

[smiling.politely]

As I was leaving Walmart tonight there was a older gentleman named Art running carts/security. He was happy to tell us all about getting these done on the west coast in the '40s. The rope was to protect him from drowning, and he's happy with how solid the panther still is.

[graybones]

Rich Hardy posted this on instagram today:

"PERTH 2013 Pinky Yun, mid 70's One of the best eagles I have ever seen!"

Instagram

[kylegrey]

Don't worry be happy

was a number one jam

Damn if I say it you can slap me right here

[abees]

My dad's forearms. Pictures taken last week. My dad was 16 or 17 when he got these in 1970/71. Done by Bob 'Eagle' Smith in Oxford, England. It says 'mum' and 'dad' in the banners.

[Mick Weder]

^

[Jon Reiter]

Oh, and does anyone know anything about these photos? Found them uncredited on line but they look maybe Burchett-y to my untrained eye. Pretty sure they're the back nad front of the same man

These are indeed photos of the same man. His name is George Smith, of Sheboygan, WI, and was tattooed by Amund Dietzel. The photos I've got are dated 1928. and nearly every tattoo he's got, can be matched to Dietzel flash. The back piece as well, 'The the Ascension of Christ' was a personal favorite of Dietzel's. There are at least 4 examples of it in photographs, and it's mentioned in a newspaper article as well.

http://solidstatemilwaukee.com/books/

[beez]

This came across my newsfeed today. Poked around and didn't immediately find it, so posting here! Pic captions are taken directly from the article.

THE VISUAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RUSSIAN PRISON TATTOOS

A snake around the neck is a sign of drug addiction.

This inmate is not an authoritative thief, but has tried to imitate them with his tattoos to increase his standing within the prison. The lighthouse on his right arm denotes a pursuit of freedom. Each wrist manacle indicates a sentence of more than five years.

The eight-pointed stars on this inmate’s shoulders indicate that he's a criminal.

This prisoner is one of many who contracted syphilis, AIDS, or tetanus while being tattooed in unsanitary conditions. (GNARLY!)

The devils on this inmate's shoulders symbolize a hatred of authority and the prison structure. This type of tattoo is known as an oskal (grin), a baring of teeth towards the system.

A dagger through the neck indicates that a criminal has murdered someone in prison and is available to hire for further hits. The drops of blood can signify the number of murders committed.

The skull and crossbones on the prisoner's shoulders indicate that he's serving a life sentence, and the girl "catching" her dress with a fishing line on his left forearm is a tattoo commonly linked to rapists.

[hogg]

Toughest tattoos ever? Especially that snake ascot.

[LanaZellner]

I love this thread... it's super interesting to see what kind of work holds the best.

[Johnny Chan Fan Hui]

I like the simplicity of the first tattoo.