Sailor Jerry and his sexy tattoos Pin Up Girl

Let’s take a fascinating look at the history of tattooing now with this great master of old school tattoos. Jerry Collins is considered the father of the tattoo, and pin-up tattoos of him have become extremely popular today.

Born in 1911 and died in 1973, Jerry was a sailor for most of his life. He resided in Hawaii, where he had access to the great mystique of the Far East…he kept in close contact with Japanese tattoo artists, and learned a lot from them.

He practiced his first tattoos during a period in tattoo history when only sailors, bikers, and social deviants got tattooed. He elevated the art of tattooing to a new level of respectability and perfected sterilization methods. He referred to the other tattoo artists who work in less sanitary conditions as “scab artists.”

He is most famous for his feminine tattoos, his tattoos of demons, she-devils, etc. Jerry really honed the concept of the pin up girl as the supervixen who would lead a poor sailor down the path of his destruction. She, in combination with liquor, gambling, and fast cars, would come to be known as “the ruin of man.”

Sailor Jerry mentored modern tattoo masters like Ed Hardy, Cliff Raven, and Mike Malone. Ed Hardy and Mike Malone inherited the rights to all of Jerry’s tattoos and tattoo drawings!

With the resurgence in popularity of old school tattoos, Jerry’s vintage pinup girls have become iconic. Now there’s a line of products bearing his likenesses…from clothing, ashtrays and playing cards, to 92 proof rum! Speaking of ubiquitous and iconic, I even saw her rum the other day at Rite Aid Pharmacy!