Oral History Tattoo Mystery: The Brothers Kamarit Written & Researched by Carmen Forquer Nyssen Since the day Carmen obtained her copy of Lyle Tuttle’s Tattoo Historian No. 1, in 2012, and read Bert Grimm’s oral history recollections in Barrs Noble’s […]
Ben Corday:An Artist, Not a Self-Styled Professor Rich Hardy and Carmen Forquer Nyssen (her life’s work on the subject) are pleased to announce their upcoming book, Ben Corday: An Artist, Not a Self-Styled Professor, chronicling the life and career of […]
1943 S. Main Street Tattooers: Harry Lawson, Pat Dimidies, Duffy By Carmen Nyssen 1943 South Main Street Los Angeles Tattooers Because 1940s and 1950s Los Angeles City Directories rarely listed tattoo shops, investigating local tattoo history for this period is a […]
Charlie Barrs’ Tattoos Researched & Written by Carmen Nyssen Good ol’ Sailor Charlie Barrs—a quiet man who spoke with a slight German accent and was seldom seen without a stogie hanging from his mouth—was a master machinist-tattooer. That’s his main […]
Harry V. Lawson’s Norfolk Tattoo Shop By Carmen Nyssen Tattoo artist Harry Vivian Lawson (birth name Hurtle Vivian Lawson) left his mark in many arenas of tattooing —exhibiting as a tattooed man, tattooing with carnivals and dime museums, running a supply […]
Slim Lewis: Elephant Trainer-Tattooer Researched & Written by Carmen Nyssen Pacific Northwest tattoo artist, George Washington “Slim” Lewis (1911-1981), ranked among numerous tattoo artists whose careers intermingled with the world of circuses and sideshows. In 1927, at age 16, Slim […]
Ben Corday’s Tattooed Nudes By Carmen Forquer Nyssen The tattooed nudes of 1920s Los Angeles Main Street tattoo artist, Ben Corday, bared the selling points of his tattoos. Tattoos as Fine Art Ben Corday was one of the finer tattoo […]
The Case of an Obscure Tattooer: Prof. J.L. Hayes By Carmen Nyssen In tattoo history, we often meet phrases like “obscure historical figure” and words like “ephemeral” (short-lived and out of reach). But such language is all a matter of perspective. […]
J.F. Barber: Tattoo Trade Professional By Carmen Nyssen Jesse Frederick Barber was a popular early tattoo artist-tattoo supplier, who made the most of business. As a professional, he understood the worth of engaging in many aspects of the trade, as well as, the […]
Cap Coleman: Tattooed Man Turned Tattoo Master By Carmen Nyssen This post picks up from the previous one paying tribute to Norfolk, Virginia’s well-known lady tattooer Lenora Platt. To recap, Lenora made Norfolk her tattooing base for many years after passing through […]
Lady Lenora, Tattooed Tattoo-ess By Carmen Nyssen Lady tattooer Lenora Platt has been undeservedly overlooked in tattoo history. As possibly the only early twentieth century women tattoo artist who made a living by the needle without the safeguard of a […]
Painless Nell & Hughie Bowen, Tattoo TeamBy Carmen Nyssen In my previous Granddaddy of all Good Tattooing: Sailor Charlie Barrs article from a couple weeks ago, I forgot to mention that Bert Grimm introduced my grandma (his niece) to Sailor Charlie, and […]
Tales of Tattoo Wars and Troublemakers Researched & Written by Carmen Forquer Nyssen Once upon a time in the tattoo trade, when local authorities governed more by random circumstance than regulation, tattoo artists worked under a whole different set of […]
Granddaddy of all Good Tattooing: Sailor Charlie Barrs By Carmen Nyssen Sailor Charlie Barrs One very special highlight of my Great Great Uncle Bert Grimm’s career is his working relationship with Sailor Charlie Barrs. Barrs tattooed in a style known today […]
A Roundtrip Ticket to Tattoo: From So. Cal. to Honolulu Written & researched by Carmen Nyssen History of Tattooing in Hawaii: Los Angeles Steamship Co. Before the now renowned tattoo artist Sailor Jerry Collins arrived in Honolulu, a local tradition […]
History of Tattooing: Tattoo Artist Grave Sites By Carmen Forquer Nyssen While browsing the Buzzworthy Tattoo History site, some of you might have noticed that visiting and/or documenting tattoo artist grave sites has been a focal point of my tattoo […]
Samuel O’Reilly vs. Elmer Getchell Written & Researched by Carmen Nyssen At the turn of the century, a storm was brewing in the tattoo world. On April 19, 1899, New York City tattoo artist, Elmer Getchell, was served a subpoena and […]
