Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors: The Liberty Boys & The History of Tattooing in Boston
Written by Margaret Hodges and Derin Bray, Foreword by Danielle Boiardi
A lively, richly illustrated family biography of pioneering Boston tattoo artists Edward "Dad" Liberty and his sons Frank, Harold, and Ted. Accompanied by a lush catalogue of historic tattoo flash art. Through the complex, deeply human story of an iconic family of Boston tattooers, Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors forges a deeper understanding of the history of a vernacular art form and the folk who made a living from its subversive attractions. From the 1910s until 1962, when Massachusetts banned tattooing statewide, Edward "Dad" Liberty and his three sons held a near-monopoly on the Boston tattoo scene from their shops in Scollay Square, the city's gritty entertainment district.
Over their lifetimes, the Liberty men accumulated an unmatched collection of hand-painted tattoo flash art, photographs, machines, shop signs, correspondence, ephemera, and family memorabilia. Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors brings together this eye-popping material to create a groundbreaking visual and narrative history of tattooing in Boston. Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors presents more than 700 never-before published vintage tattoo designs, known as "flash", used from the early 1900s through the early 1960s. Highlights include artwork by early Boston tattoo artist and showman Frank Howard, Ed Smith, and tattoo luminary Ben Corday. Also featured are over 70 illustrations of newly-discovered art and artifacts owned by the Libertys and related to many of the tattooers in their orbit, including Detroit's Percy Waters; Portland, Oregon's "Sailor" George Fosdick; Los Angeles' Ben Corday; Honolulu's "Long Tom" and "Sailor" Jerry Collins; and Boston's Fred McKay, James Fraser, Lawrence Davis, Oscar Bouchard, Jack Redcloud, Harvey Chanarkar, and Frank Harrington. Also represented is a host of material from Ted Liberty's time in Baltimore and later Vancouver, Canada and Harold Liberty's time in Salem, New Hampshire.
160 Pages 11.5x9.5”
Written by Margaret Hodges and Derin Bray, Foreword by Danielle Boiardi
A lively, richly illustrated family biography of pioneering Boston tattoo artists Edward "Dad" Liberty and his sons Frank, Harold, and Ted. Accompanied by a lush catalogue of historic tattoo flash art. Through the complex, deeply human story of an iconic family of Boston tattooers, Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors forges a deeper understanding of the history of a vernacular art form and the folk who made a living from its subversive attractions. From the 1910s until 1962, when Massachusetts banned tattooing statewide, Edward "Dad" Liberty and his three sons held a near-monopoly on the Boston tattoo scene from their shops in Scollay Square, the city's gritty entertainment district.
Over their lifetimes, the Liberty men accumulated an unmatched collection of hand-painted tattoo flash art, photographs, machines, shop signs, correspondence, ephemera, and family memorabilia. Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors brings together this eye-popping material to create a groundbreaking visual and narrative history of tattooing in Boston. Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors presents more than 700 never-before published vintage tattoo designs, known as "flash", used from the early 1900s through the early 1960s. Highlights include artwork by early Boston tattoo artist and showman Frank Howard, Ed Smith, and tattoo luminary Ben Corday. Also featured are over 70 illustrations of newly-discovered art and artifacts owned by the Libertys and related to many of the tattooers in their orbit, including Detroit's Percy Waters; Portland, Oregon's "Sailor" George Fosdick; Los Angeles' Ben Corday; Honolulu's "Long Tom" and "Sailor" Jerry Collins; and Boston's Fred McKay, James Fraser, Lawrence Davis, Oscar Bouchard, Jack Redcloud, Harvey Chanarkar, and Frank Harrington. Also represented is a host of material from Ted Liberty's time in Baltimore and later Vancouver, Canada and Harold Liberty's time in Salem, New Hampshire.
160 Pages 11.5x9.5”
Written by Margaret Hodges and Derin Bray, Foreword by Danielle Boiardi
A lively, richly illustrated family biography of pioneering Boston tattoo artists Edward "Dad" Liberty and his sons Frank, Harold, and Ted. Accompanied by a lush catalogue of historic tattoo flash art. Through the complex, deeply human story of an iconic family of Boston tattooers, Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors forges a deeper understanding of the history of a vernacular art form and the folk who made a living from its subversive attractions. From the 1910s until 1962, when Massachusetts banned tattooing statewide, Edward "Dad" Liberty and his three sons held a near-monopoly on the Boston tattoo scene from their shops in Scollay Square, the city's gritty entertainment district.
Over their lifetimes, the Liberty men accumulated an unmatched collection of hand-painted tattoo flash art, photographs, machines, shop signs, correspondence, ephemera, and family memorabilia. Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors brings together this eye-popping material to create a groundbreaking visual and narrative history of tattooing in Boston. Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors presents more than 700 never-before published vintage tattoo designs, known as "flash", used from the early 1900s through the early 1960s. Highlights include artwork by early Boston tattoo artist and showman Frank Howard, Ed Smith, and tattoo luminary Ben Corday. Also featured are over 70 illustrations of newly-discovered art and artifacts owned by the Libertys and related to many of the tattooers in their orbit, including Detroit's Percy Waters; Portland, Oregon's "Sailor" George Fosdick; Los Angeles' Ben Corday; Honolulu's "Long Tom" and "Sailor" Jerry Collins; and Boston's Fred McKay, James Fraser, Lawrence Davis, Oscar Bouchard, Jack Redcloud, Harvey Chanarkar, and Frank Harrington. Also represented is a host of material from Ted Liberty's time in Baltimore and later Vancouver, Canada and Harold Liberty's time in Salem, New Hampshire.
160 Pages 11.5x9.5”
