Frank Howard Book of Tattoo Designs

Eye-catching, graphic business cards were an essential tool in the tattoo artist’s trade. Frank Howard built his successful business on his fame as Barnum & Bailey’s “Original Tattooed Man.”

This early book of painted tattoo designs features popular American imagery. Sentimental and patriotic designs like these permeated American culture, appearing on mass-produced ceramics, textiles, prints, and advertisements through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.