New York City Tattoo: The Oral History of an Urban Art

by Michael McCabe, Hubert Selby Jr. (Introduction)

New York City Tattoo documents the lively, humorous and often violent history of the art from the early years of the 20th century, in the words of the men who "pushed the pins" in places like Coney Island and the Bowery. Tattooing at the time evoked the dangerous fringes of society, and for over a decade Michael McCabe assiduously gained the confidence of the few surviving practitioners of this vanished era. These highly-charged interviews provide a privileged look into a clannish world of honor, respect, and jealously guarded trade secrets. They reveal facets of New York social history and a volatile, misunderstood and secretive art form.

Genres: History

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

Reviews

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an collection of interviews of tattoo artists that worked in New York City just before the ban on tattoos in the city in 1961 which lasted for 36 years. As a tattoo collector, I am interested in the history of tattoos. I thought it was a good read.

[Charles Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool oral history of tattooing in NYC.
Came across this when putting a lesson plan together for freshman history survey.
Lots of great artwork, photographs, ephemera, etc.
Some good city history of NYC from WW2 to 1990s.
Author is cultural anthropologist and former tattoo artist.

[Allisonv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome crazy old dude oral history stories and photos. Tons and tons and tons of pages of original old flash, drawings, and photos of tattoo work.