本书既是历史书，也是艺术书，同时还是一本引人入胜的回忆录，它对两百多年的纹身历史进行了一次概述，中间夹杂着对纹身艺术家的生活的详细介绍，以及个人的奋斗与胜利、职业危害和艺术勇气，这些是这段历史的主要内容。

在过去的四十年里，Henk Schiffmacher全身心地投入到纹身收集的工作中，积累了来自世界各地的纹身图画、设计、照片和工艺品。本书一共五章，每一章都包含从未见过的亮点，包括石版画、蚀刻画、纹身工具、绘画、照片、海报、店招、原画以及被业界称为闪片的纹身设计，其中有极为罕见的西方早期纹身界主要人物的古董闪片。书中的700多张图片记录了世界各地纹身的浩瀚和多样，包括毛利人和南太平洋岛民的土著纹身、亚洲的古老传统，以及欧美老派西方纹身的起源。书中还收录了十几幅由Schiffmacher创作的具有其无与伦比的风格的独特插图，以及一段个人介绍，描述了Schiffmacher本人作为艺术家和收藏家的历程，这段历程影响了他对艺术从地下走向主流的看法。

Schiffmacher通过他个人的思考和狂野的冒险故事，为纹身历史带来了迷人的视角。在这本书中，我们不仅了解了纹身的历史，还了解了世界上**的纹身收藏之一的形成过程背后的冒险故事，这些纹身是由一个自学成才的，热爱这门艺术及其创新者的纹身艺术家收藏的。

One part history book, one part art book, and one part fascinating memoir, this book is an overview of more than two centuries of tattoo history intermixed with an intimate look at the lives of tattoo artists, and the personal struggles and triumphs, occupational hazards, and artistic courage that have defined so much of this history.

For the last forty years, Henk Schiffmacher has poured his heart and soul into his collection, amassing tattoo drawings, designs, photographs, and artifacts from around the world. Each of the book’s five chapters features many never-before-

seen highlights from this collection and includes lithographs, etchings, tattooing instruments, paintings, photographs, posters, shop signs, original drawings, and tattoo designs known in the business as flash, among them extremely rare vintage flash sheets from major players in early Western tattooing. The vastness and variety of tattooing around the world is chronicled in the book’s 700+ images, including the indigenous tattooing of the Māori and South Pacific islanders, the ancient traditions of Asia, and the origins of old-

school Western tattooing in Europe and the United States. The book also features a dozen original illustrations by Schiffmacher in his inimitable style, as well as a personal introduction describing Schiffmacher’s own journey as both an artist and a collector that has shaped his view of the art’s journey from the underground to the mainstream.

Schiffmacher brings a fascinating perspective to tattoo history through his personal reflections and wild tales of adventure. In this book, we learn not only about the history of tattooing, but also about the adventures behind the making of one of the largest tattoo collections in the world, by a self-taught tattoo artist in love with the art and its innovators.