Tattoos have flourished throughout history since 2000 B.C. when they were first used in Egypt. Then they spread to Southern Asia and to China. Over the years, tattoos have come to have different meanings. The Russian convicts used their tattoos to mock the political system, as to rebel against the reform of the jails. Pictures tattooed on Russian prisoners ranged from castles and cathedrals, symbolizing the length of time a person has been imprisoned, to a spider or a spider web symbolizing drug addiction.
Some people see tattoos simply as a way to rebel from their parents, or from the community.
The images on the walls spoke to me of travel, adventure, danger and sex. In my impressionable young mind tattooing became indelibly associated with these things. Though Burchett wrote this book nearly half a century ago, his description of the lure of tattooing still holds true. A tattoo artist and collector, Lyle Tuttle opened one of the first in 1974 in San Francisco. The artists have really gotten involved with them.