This powerful dragon design was popularized by (and most likely originated from) the legendary Cap Coleman in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a stylized combination of elements from classic Chinese dragons and traditional American tattooing. To our knowledge, this is the earliest existing representation of the iconic Coleman dragon; the painting itself has held up well—both physically and artistically—for close to a century.

Coleman, considered by many to be the father of American tattooing, painted this design in his now-famous style. The image has come to be praised as one of the most representative and recognizable early 20^th century tattoo designs. To this day, it holds a special place in the genre’s visual vocabulary alongside time-honored standards like panthers, eagles, daggers, skulls, military insignia, roses, religious ephemera, and pinups. 

The Coleman Dragon has proven its timelessness by being replicated again and again while rarely (if ever) straying from Cap’s original color scheme and layout. Having no doubt been passed down through the tattoo generations from Coleman to the infamous Huck Spaulding and Paul Rogers partnership, this design has made its way onto countless contemporary flash sheets and many widely known and well-documented tattoos – chief among them the powerful and striking backpiece by Spaulding on renowned New York tattoo legend Thom DeVita (as shown above).

We are excited to announce the arrival of stunningly vivid color photo reprints of the classic tattooed beauty Stella Grassman circa 1931. Originally printed using one of the first color photography processes, this stunning autochrome photograph features Grassman, a well-known tattooed woman of the early 20th Century. This almost candid photograph gives us a high definition glimpse into the past. Her beautiful tattoos were done by her husband Samuel "Deafy" Grassman. We have obtained licensing from the original source, National Geographic, and are excited to share this amazing image with you. Limited quantities.