Old tattoo photos

[guitguy]

- - - Updated - - -

my untrained eye.

Meh, I'd say your eye is relatively trained ;)

Thanks for the cool and entertaining posts.

[Gregor]

All those old tattooed people look tough as fuck , not like todays vans wearing hipsters :)

[HettyKet]

hey @Gregor look where google took me again - Stunning vintage photographs of early C20th tattoo artists | Mail Online. Most odd!

[HettyKet]

looks american...so my guess is not burchett...but i have no clue who might have done it..still more awesome than most modern tattoos :)

No, actually, I think you're right. Anyone else think this looks like the same backdrop? Here:

Charlie Wagner & ...

Charlie Wagner & Trixie Richardson (the spit of Urma Thurman here, or not?)

Charlie Wagner & ...

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

It's easy to forget that Wagner did do some phenomenal botanical stuff (like the thistle on Painless Jack Tyron's left bicep, for example) - because his work is often more densely packed than George Burchett's it can be harder to see.

[kylegrey]

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

- - - Updated - - -

Ah, he was here already all nicely coloured in:

Regarding the gent in question by the looks of his hairstyle he could quite easily be an American serviceman of the second World War which opens up the distinct possibility that he may have been tattooed by Christian Warlich . Although a German Warlich tattooed a lot of U.S. (and German see the Christian Warlich thread ) officers and was considered the George Burchett of Germany , he also called himself the " King of Tattooists " .

[HettyKet]

@kylegrey Oh you are an absolute star! Massive thanks! I've been after the German connection for an age but the fucking nazis made it impossible to find out anything without names to work from.

I know it's cheeky to ask but if you know more about German artists would you be kind enough to share it here? http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/4527-circus-tattooing-charlie-wagner-et-al-germany-connection-anyone.html

- - - Updated - - -

Erm, oh. Please understand I'm not calling the German people nazis, was referring to the actual nazis.

[kylegrey]

@HettyKet There's a Christian Warlich thread here but the photos are very rare and I only shared with the owners permission

http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/general-tattoo-discussion/2535-christian-warlich.html

[HettyKet]

Fantastic, thank you very much. I'll have a good read as soon as my rampaging children permit some concentration.

[CultExciter]

Bert Grimm (I think)

I believe that is a Zeis design, although I've been wrong so many times before. Anyone of those old timers could have done it.

[cltattooing]

I believe that is a Zeis design, although I've been wrong so many times before. Anyone of those old timers could have done it.

It very well could be. The old timers ripped each other off quite a lot, although Zeis was one of the first tattooers to openly sell his flash.

[Gregor]

hey @Gregor look where google took me again - Stunning vintage photographs of early C20th tattoo artists | Mail Online. Most odd!

Haha too mad ! I think Dr Matt Lodder has got a tattoo history book coming out next year - well worth keeping an eye out for that (think he's a member of this site too)

[InMyHeadAche]

I spoke to another Veteran at my work yesterday. He was pretty covered, and out of curiosity I asked him politely where he got his tattoos (or pieces of crap, as he called them) done at. He couldn't remember the artists who did most of them, but he pointed out two specific ones. He told me that he got two (on his outer biceps) done by Charlie Wagner in Portsmouth, Virginia. He told me Charlie mixed the ink with his spit then said "tattooing has changed a lot from those days".

I wish I could have spoke with him a little more, but I didn't want to keep him from going about his day.

[kylegrey]

BTC and Les Skuse .

[polliwog]

Love this backpiece from 1895, posted in the Guardian earlier this month: Japanese tattoo, c1895 - a picture from the past | Art and design | theguardian.com

[Dan]

Love this backpiece from 1895, posted in the Guardian earlier this month: Japanese tattoo, c1895 - a picture from the past | Art and design | theguardian.com

pretty cool shot :)

[graybones]

Thought this belonged in this thread, slideshow of 20 sheets of 100+ year old flash accompanies the article:

A treasure trove of antique tattoo flash is found in Corpus Christi - The Texican

This weekend, Peveto Art Gallery will display 20 sheets of historic tattoo flash art that were recently found in an abandoned house in Corpus Christi. According to gallery owner Scott Peveto, the flash looks to be over 100 years old. The items were rescued from a Dumpster by a man who cleans out houses that are tagged to be torn down.

[hogg]

I spoke to another Veteran at my work yesterday. He was pretty covered, and out of curiosity I asked him politely where he got his tattoos (or pieces of crap, as he called them) done at. He couldn't remember the artists who did most of them, but he pointed out two specific ones. He told me that he got two (on his outer biceps) done by Charlie Wagner in Portsmouth, Virginia. He told me Charlie mixed the ink with his spit then said "tattooing has changed a lot from those days".

Thank you for sharing that--what a story!

[smiling.politely]

A few new acquisitions I can photograph tonight and post later... much like the old Life magazine with the "Jap gamblers" I posted images of awhile back, I have a 1936 issue with a two page spread covering some American style tattoos. I think there's a lady with a Charlie Wagner suit in it. Also, I got a copy of Irezumi by Ichiro Morita and Donald Ritchie... don't ask what that took. I'll try to get some from that one up as well.

[smiling.politely]

Photo heavy post... I'll include the captions from the Life article where appropriate. Not going to post the whole Irezumi book because there's lots of images, and there's something magical about flipping through that thing... some things are best discovered through some digging. These are by far the coolest shots from it, though.

The tattooer they cover is called Apache Harry. There's a shot of his travel kit and flash set up on the first page. He has a sign reading "Tattoos Removed Without Scars. Apache Harry. #22 Bowery NYC."

"For decorating 'Six Ring' Dutch and other clients, tattooist Apache Harry makes $3,000 a year."

"Front view of Michael Brandmaier. His 300 designs by Apache Harry are worth $400."

"Rear view of Michael Brandmaier. It took four years to tattoo him all over."

" 'Professor' Wagner is responsible for this girl's condition."

Irezumi, 1966.

[HettyKet]

I don't suppose there is any more information about the 'girl' is there? I've seen this picture often but I'm yet to be convinced she's really one of Prof. Wagners / all his work. The sleeve length and use of bangles is certainly pretty typical of his circus work but a lot of the tattoos look really quite crude compared to what I'm used to seeing on his 'circus girls'.

[irezumi]

Good post Smiling, the Donald Ritchie/Morita book is great. Good score.

[Graeme]

I pillaged this one from Tomas Tomas's instagram and he said there that he got it from the Yokohama Tattoo Museum:

That suit is so striking and powerful. I will readily admit that I am pretty ignorant about tattoos, and this photo really hammers that point home: I had no idea that there were Japanese bodysuits done like that with the heavy black and negative space. Does anybody know more about this photo?

[ironchef]

@Graeme I saw this as well. BOLD and amazing looking. Epic beardo too. I'm going to try and research and see what I come up with.

[taaarro]

The beardo on the left is a fireman. The bold letters on his front identifies him as being in the "Chi" group of firemen. The text on his right identifies where he's from Sensoji in Asakusa, Tokyo. I believe it was common for firemen to get tattooed for id purposes if they died on the job.

[taaarro]

I meant "... where he's from--Sensoji, Asakusa, Tokyo."