The Tattoo Catalogue: 2025 - Tattoo, Circus, Sideshow, and Curiosities

Bray & Co. is pleased to present the third installment of The Tattoo Catalogue. This limited-edition book features hundreds of rare items, including newly discovered tattoo flash, vintage photographs, shop signs, machines, banners, business cards, and more from iconic figures in the long, colorful history of tattooing.

Richly illustrated with essays and previously unpublished images, it brings to light new material from “Sailor” George Fosdick, George Burchett, “Brooklyn” Joe Lieber, Bert Grimm, Lew Alberts, Charlie Wagner, and many others.

Also featured are several remarkable private collections, including an extraordinary assemblage of tattoo photographs and ephemera from the collection of Mav Mess; historically significant material from Don & Flo Makofskie, founders of National Tattoo Association; and an unparalleled selection of hand-carved and painted works, sideshow props, and related artifacts by pioneering performers and tattoo artists Gus and Maud Wagner, drawn from the collection of Kelly and Rhett Johnson.

This catalogue represents the largest and finest collection of tattoo masterworks and related artifacts ever offered for public sale. It is a companion to an auction held by Bray & Co. on July 13, 2025.