Tattoos. The Untold History of a Modern Art

Tattooing has existed as a professionalized practice for centuries, yet it has rarely been treated as a serious profession or an art. In this richly illustrated book, Matt Lodder offers a new perspective on the history of tattooing in Europe and the United States. Lodder shows that the art of tattoo has long been both practiced and commissioned by individuals across economic, gender, and class divides ; he also examines the stylistic trends that have shaped tattoo's development as a medium of expression over its history.
Ladder's narrative centers the artists who have shaped tattooing's evolution over time, including early figures like Martin Hildebrandt, the first-known professional tattoo artist in the West ; prominent woman artists like Jessie Knight ; mid-twentieth-century icons like Sailor Jerry and Les Skuse and the Bristol Tattoo Club ; and contemporary industry legends including Ed Hardy, Paul Booth, and the Leu family.
Fully illustrated with rarely published images, this important book is the first to examine the history of tattoo in the West as both a serious profession and an art form.