In A Fool’s Journey, protagonist Callie Barnstable becomes well acquainted with flash art, the term used for generic tattoo designs. Here’s an excerpt from the book, with the Glass Dolphin mystery’s Levon Larroquette sharing his knowledge with Callie and his ex-wife, Arabella Carpenter:
“I’ve built up a small personal collection, mostly vintage stuff, but a few by contemporary artists,” Levon said. “When I started collecting I was in a small minority. But flash art now gets top dollar. At the July 2018 Ripley Auctions in Indianapolis there were six original tattoo flash art sheets attributed to Charlie Wagner and Sam O’Reilly which sold for more than forty-thousand dollars.”
“I have no idea who they are,” I admitted, “but that’s a lot of money.”
Levon warmed to his subject. “Sam O’Reilly learned tattooing in the Navy, patented the first tattooing machine in 1891, practiced in the Bowery in New York City. Charlie Wagner apprenticed with O’Reilly, patented his own tattoo machine in 1904, sold his machines and his own brand of ink. He died in 1953, but was a tattoo artist for fifty years. But it’s the backstory that’s a picker’s dream.”
“Do tell,” I said, leaning forward. The man could spin a story.
“The sheets were found by an antiques collector in the bottom of a trunk in the attic of an eighty-four-year-old career Marine Corps officer. The collector paid $10 for it.”
“Wow, ten dollars for forty-thousand plus. Not a bad return on investment. I don’t think what I’ve brought has anywhere near that value, but…” I opened my briefcase, handed over the sketchbook, and watched silently as Arabella and Levon carefully studied each page. Levon kept going back to a page filled with images from the Pentacles.
Photos courtesy of Ripley Auctions. 