In the 1830s an Irishman named James F. O'Connell acquired a full-body tattoo while living as a castaway in the Pacific. The tattoo featured traditional patterns that, to native Pohnpeians, defined O'Connell's life; they made him wholly human. Yet upon traveling to New York, these markings singled him out as a freak. His tattoos frightened women and children, and ministers warned their congregations that viewing O'Connell's markings would cause the ink to transfer to the skin of their unborn children. In many ways, O'Connell's story exemplifies the unique history of the modern tattoo, which began in the Pacific and then spread throughout the world. No matter what form it has taken, the tattoo has always embodied social standing, aesthetics, ethics, culture, gender, and sexuality. Tattoos are personal and corporate, private and public. They mark the profane and the sacred, the extravagant and the essential, the playful and the political. From the Pacific islands to the world at large, tattoos are a symbolic and often provocative form of expression and communication.

"Tattooing the World" is the first book on tattoo literature and culture. Juniper Ellis traces the origins and significance of modern tattoo in the works of nineteenth- and twentieth-century artists, travelers, missionaries, scientists, and such writers as Herman Melville, Margaret Mead, Albert Wendt, and Sia Figiel. Traditional Pacific tattoo patterns are formed using an array of well-defined motifs. They place the individual in a particular community and often convey genealogy and ideas of the sacred. However, outside of the Pacific, those who wear and view tattoos determine their meaning and interpret their designdifferently. Reading indigenous historiography alongside Western travelogue and other writings, Ellis paints a surprising portrait of how culture has been etched both on the human form and on a body of literature.

This is an in-depth study of tattoo culture and contemporary tattoo history through fine art paintings. It contains photographs, paintings and essays chronicling a six-year living journal.

American tattoo master Sailor Jerry Collins of Hawaii is best known for his remarkable tattoo designs, blending the fluidity of Asian motifs into classic American tattoo imagery. Until now, most of Sailor Jerrys work has been controlled by a handful of collectors, seen only at museum or art gallery exhibitions or in short-run, self-published books. Here is a sizeable portion of Sailor Jerrys stencils, the newest tattoo collectible, spanning his tattoo career, from the 1940s to the early 1970s. The basic line work of hundreds of his staple and surprisingly beautiful designspin-ups, roses, bluebirds, hearts, and banners, and Jerrys infamous military/political cartoons. The stencils themselves were handcut in celluloid, vinyl or acetate sheets by the master himself for use during his day-to-day thriving tattoo trade in downtown Honolulu. They are, in the best sense, permanent tattoos carved in plastic, enduring through time. In their original condition, most carry residual charcoal dust from their last use. All are signed by Jerry with one of his several distinctive signatures. This is the only book of its kinda workbook for artists, and a design catalog for folk art historians. The value of the stencils is included, along with descriptions of stencils and their usage and a glossary of tattoo terminology.

The ancient, traditional art of henna body painting -- widely used in India, Africa, and the Middle East -- has also become highly popular in the West. This design collection incorporates scores of these lovely patterns (largely Indian) that cover hands, forearms, and feet. Included are fine line, lacy, and paisley motifs; assorted floral borders, heart-shaped insets, and repeat patterns featuring abstracts and woven tendrils.

A revised edition of the now sold-out and sought-after Full Coverage book. Over 200 pages extensively documenting all 33 back pieces from start to finish, with photos by Max Dolberg and NSK, an exclusive essay by the Master Horiyoshi III and introductory text by Adrian Lee. Full Coverage expands on the Suits Made to Fit project, which documented the bodysuit tattoo designs of NSKolectiv. Full Coverage is the next practical extension of that project. Whereas Suits Made to Fit was essentially an elaborate homework assignment produced on various static media, Full Coverage too those concepts and applied them to living canvas. The goal: to produce a series of comprehensive back pieces.

The art of tattoos goes back hundreds, if not thousands, of years and today they are more popular than ever, but how many people really know the story behind tattoos? With a fascination for the Victorian tattoo craze, and the way the story behind these manmade marks has evolved over the years, Tina Brown is the perfect author to guide you through the fascinating, sometimes surprising, history that led to their current popularity. A global adventure spanning centuries, this guide, lavishly illustrated with a wealth of images and drawing on contemporary interviews with respected tattoo artists around the world, is sure to delight anyone with an interest in thehistory behind the art of tattoos.

A unique and stimulating book on the subject of tattooing in China. After many years of traveling to Hong Kong and China, photographing the elusive and secretive world of permanent body illustration, British photographer and author Chris Wroblewski has produced the world's first publication on the art of Chinese skin illustration.With over 250 original images, showing the proud wearers of body art, this book takes the reader on a journey through China. From the mountains of Yunan, where the ethnic tribespeople still maintain their tradition of marking the face with butterfly designs that they believe will transport them to heaven in the afterlife; across the plains of China to the metropolis of Hong Kong and the equally colorful world of ancient mariner tattoos.China Tattoo is provocative, substantially researched, and filled with stunning images.

This title covers the art of bodysuit tattoos - tattoos that cover the entire body as one intricate piece of work. The artists of the NewSkool Tattoo Collective are the young innovators of the medium.

Wrapping in Images is the first comparative analysis of tattooing in Polynesia in its original setting, based on a comprehensive survey of both written and visual documentary sources. Drawing on modern social theory, psychoanalysis, and contemporary anthropology, Alfred Gell shows how tattooing formed part of a complex array of symbolic techniques for controlling sacredness and protecting the self. He uses this framework to examine the iconographic meaning of tattoo motifs, the rich corpus of mythology surrounding tattooing in some Polynesian societies, and the complex rituals associated with the tattoing operation. he also demonstrates how not all ancient Polynesian societies placed an equal emphasis on tattooing, or exploited the basic metaphors in the same way. Gell's wide-ranging, comparative political analysis shows consistent correlations between forms of political structure and different tattooing institutions, offering a new perspective on Polynesian comparative sociology.