American traditional, Western traditional or simply traditional is a

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

style featuring bold black outlines and a limited color palette, with common motifs influenced by

sailor tattoos Sailor tattoos are traditions of tattooing among sailors, including images with symbolic meanings. These practices date back to at least the 16th century among European sailors, and since Colonial history of the United States, colonial times amon ...

. The style is sometimes called old school and contrasted with "

new school The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers ...

" tattoos, which it influenced, and which use a wider range of colors, shading, and subjects.

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...

designs are often American traditional.

Artists

* Norman Keith Collins, also known as

Sailor Jerry Norman Keith Collins (January 14, 1911 – June 12, 1973), known popularly as Sailor Jerry, was a prominent American tattoo artist in Hawaii who was well known for his tattoo designs. Early life Norman Keith Collins was born on January 14, 19 ...

, (1911–1973) was one of the most well-known traditional tattoo artists. *

Amund Dietzel Amund Dietzel (28 February 1891 – 9 February 1974) was an early American tattoo artist who tattooed tens of thousands of people in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, between 1913 and 1967. He developed a substantial amount of flash art, influenced many oth ...

(1890–1974), Norwegian-born artist who began his career as a sailor, before settling in the United States. Known as the "Master in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

". *

Don Ed Hardy Don Ed Hardy (born 1945) is an American tattoo artist known for his tattoos, strong influence on the development of modern tattoo styles, and his eponymous brand. Early life Hardy was born on January 5, 1945, in Des Moines, Iowa. He grew up in ...

(born 1945) a driving force in incorporating

Japanese tattoo Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

aesthetics and techniques into American traditional. * Herbert Hoffmann (1919–2010), began tattooing in Germany during the 1930s. Together with fellow artists Karlmann Richter and Albert Cornelissen, he was featured in the 2004 film ''Blue Skin'' (German: ''Flammend' Herz''). *

Bert Grimm Bert Grimm (born Edward Cecil Reardon, February 8, 1900 – June 15, 1985) was an American tattoo artist dubbed the "grandfather of old school". Grimm's work and mentorship contributed to the development and popularity of the American Traditiona ...

(1900–1985). Began his career in the city of

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

and then moved to

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, to set up a shop at the Nu-Pike. His parlour was said to be the oldest continually running in the continental US and the place for sailors to get inked. Grimm sold the shop to Bob Shaw in 1970. *

Bob Shaw Robert Shaw (31 December 1931 – 11 February 1996) was a science fiction writer and fan from Northern Ireland, noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980. His short story " Light of Other Da ...

(1926–1993), American artist who learned tattooing from Bert Grimm in

. Later worked with Grimm and became the president of the National Tattoo Association from 1983–1988. *

Samuel Steward Samuel Morris Steward (July 23, 1909 – December 31, 1993), also known as Phil Andros, Phil Sparrow, was an American tattoo artist and pornographer. Throughout his life, he kept extensive secret diaries, journals, and statistics of his ...

one of the "old masters", best known for his memoir ''Bad Boys and Tough Tattoos'', which continues to be used to teach apprentice tattoo artists.

Common motifs

Many old school motifs derive from tattoos popular among military service members, including patriotic symbols, such as

eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

and American flags, along with pin-up girls. Other old school tattoo designs include: *

Swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

(sometimes confused with sparrows and bluebirds) * Heart * Anchor * Eagle * Panther * Snake * Luck (black cats, 13, four-leaf clover, horseshoe, etc.) * Navy and sailing symbols * Dagger * Rose *

Nautical star The nautical star is a symbolic star representing the North Star, associated with the sea services of the United States armed forces and with tattoo culture. It is usually rendered as a five-pointed star in dark and light shades counterchanged i ...

Examples

Designs circa 1900–1945 by Clark & Sellers: File:Tattoo Design with a Ship MET DP327934.jpg, alt=, Ship File:Tattoo Design 'In Memory of My Mother' MET DP327936.jpg, alt=, "In memory of my mother" File:Tattoo Design of a Female Performer MET DP836709.jpg, alt=, Performer File:Tattoo Design of an Army Nurse MET DP327937.jpg, alt=, Army nurse File:Tattoo Design with an Anchor MET DP836706.jpg, alt=, Anchor with heart and rose File:Tattoo Design with Madonna and Child MET DP836710.jpg, alt=, Madonna and child File:Tattoo Design with a Dragon and Snake (Inspired by Japanese Examples) MET DP836708.jpg, alt=, Dragon and snake File:Tattoo Design representing 'America' MET DP836712.jpg, alt=, Woman representing "America" File:Tattoo Design for a Butterfly MET DP836714.jpg, alt=, Butterfly

References

External links

Old School tattoo gallery
on BME zine {{Tattoo Tattooing traditions