Grolier Club Virtual Lecture on Tattoo Books

Sponsored by The Grolier Club

This panel discussion will focus on books about tattooing and tattooed people.

Panel discussion by tattoo historians Derin Bray and Margaret Hodges and tattoo scholar/practitioner Aarom von Hemmersbach, a Grolier Club member. Bray, an art and antique dealer based in Portsmouth, NH, and an admirer of the unusual and offbeat, is the co-author with Hodges of two 2021 books from Rake House: Loud, Naked, & In Three Colors: The Liberty Boys & the History of Tattooing in Boston and Floating West: Antique Japanese Tattoo Flash from the Collection of Nick York. In this Zoom event, Bray and Hodges will put their scholarship in the context of books about tattooing and tattooed folks dating back to the rise of Dime Museums in 1880s America.

Von Hemmersbach, a Grolier member since 2018, is a bibliophile focused on early printed books from the Aldine Press. Based in Winnipeg, he has also been a tattoo artist for about 20 years, with clients–including Grolier members–throughout Canada, the U.S. and Europe. A classical historian by training, he has combined his vocation and his avocation by inventing unique techniques for decorative bookbinding: tattooing, rather than blind- or gilt-tooling, inked designs into leather covers. His talk will complement Bray and Hodges’ observations, exploring tattooing scholarship that inspires modern-day designers.

This will be a live online event, and all attendees will receive an email with the link the day of the event. If you’ve not received a link by 9:00 am Eastern time, please check your spam folder.

Sign up at Eventbrite’s Grolier page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grolier-club-virtual-lecture-on-tattoo-books-tickets-266186088757?aff=ebdsoporgprofile