Uncommon Valor
The Tattoo Art & Photography of World War II
from The Lyle Tuttle Collection
The Lyle Tuttle Tattoo Art Collection pays great homage to World War II history as 2020 commemorates seventy-five years since World War II ended. The collection’s art holds rare and world renowned tattoo art and photography design icons of the era, which served as a vital unspoken force in our military history. The body tattoos created by now legendary American and British artists, gave comfort, comic relief, camaraderie, and bolstered the morale of our servicemen and allies during such unprecedented military conflict. Tattoo artists’ creative inspiration would never be more crucial and personal. Servicemen regularly tattooed their military i.d. and social security numbers as well as their blood type, as they could be identifiers and lifesaving in the chaos of war. Naval battleship and Pearl Harbor designs also made their way into tattoo art as the U.S. entered the war in Europe and The Pacific. We can only imagine the deep fears our servicemen had at entering then fighting the war, and one way they could express things they could not say was through the symbolic language of their tattoos. Lyle’s great collection has WW2 flash with designs representing every branch of service including The U.S. Coast Guard. Comic tattoos sparked conversations and friendships and laughter in otherwise paralyzing emotional circumstances for young men so far away from home. Pinup and sweetheart tattoos were a grounding, soothing image that served as a permanent companion in endless tours of lonesome duty. The eagle and “V for Victory” also entered popular tattoo designs as nationalistic support for our boys swept The States, and powerful propaganda for overseas allied victory entered every town and home.
I began 2020 determined and inspired to create a commemorative WW2 exhibit, knowing well how much wonderful material of that era from Lyle’s Collection could be shared and celebrated. By mid March however, an unknown and misunderstood invisible enemy became part of our day to day with the spread of the pandemic. Within days of hearing confirmation of an exciting public exhibit I’d planned here in San Francisco, I heard the crushing news that the exhibit would have to be postponed, likely until Spring 2021. That exhibit was set to be held the weekend of October 2nd-4th. We’ve all learned to be more flexible than we imagined possible in our work and planning, so bringing the essence of the public exhibit to an online platform was a way I could still share so much of the public exhibit material in a far reaching way until we can share the material live and in person. By years’ end I’ll also release an exciting publication accompanying this exhibit of WW2 era Tattoo Art and Photography. It will be our second publication, and one I know Lyle would be proud of. I was raised with a deep respect for WW2 history, so the research and learning discoveries about WW2 Tattoo history and its symbolism have been personally so eye opening and most fulfilling.
Creativity and resilience have served many of us so well in these scary and unsettling times, and my sincere hope is that you’ll enjoy this art exhibit and also be well reminded of our nation’s formative past. In this WW2 75th commemorative year, Lyle’s collection honors the great bravery and sacrifice of thousands of American servicemen and our allies under threat of world tyranny. We were a U.S.A. united for their victory. As the sailors used to say, and tattoo, “Hold Fast” in these difficult times everyone, and thank you for your support.
- Danielle Boiardi, “Uncommon Valor” Exhibit Creator and Curator of The Lyle Tuttle Collection
☆ dedication ☆
I dedicate this exhibit to all our World War 2 veterans, allies, nurses and unspoken heroes; and to those from my family: Arthur Smith, U.S Navy, George Smith, U.S. Coast Guard, Joseph Collis U.S. Army, Edmund Collis, U.S. Army, Steve Collis, U.S. Army , Joseph Marchese U.S Navy, Victor Gullotta U.S. Navy, and Alfred Gullotta, U. S. Army, recipient of The Silver Star for bravery in The War in the Pacific.
To Lyle; You continue to inspire and inform everything I do in the collection work and your spirit is lingering when the best historic discoveries are made. You are so missed and always will be, but I hope you’d say “capitol job’ on the WW2 exhibits and projects. With Navy imagery I thought of you sharing the old time nicknames “anchor clankers” and “The Canoe Club” for sailors, and The Navy, and I have those kind of memorable moments all the time. As you’d say, “Peace, Love and Birkenstocks”, Wingnut.
Special thanks to Dylainie Nathlich for her great work, smarts and patience helping get this exhibit online, and to my WW2 historian Dad, Robert Boiardi, who was full of great answers, advice and historic perspectives as I put this together. My earliest respect and admiration for WW2 history came from watching old black n white WW2 film tv series in the 80’s with you.
Lyle tuttle
The world’s greatest Tattoo Art collector in his Marine uniform | Korean War, 1951
“Some primitive societies felt that If you went through the curtain of death and you were mute, that your tattoos would stand in testimony of who you are and what you did...in some societies it was only kings queens and proven warriors that could be tattooed”
- Lyle Tuttle ☆ 2018
☆ Lyle Tuttle 2018 Audio Debut ☆
Both the onset and cultural history of WW2 had a tremendous impact on Lyle’s youth and his formative dreams of becoming a tattoo artist in San Francisco. Lyle’s father Howard worked at Marinship Corporation in Sausalito, California in the early 40’s in the massive ship building workforce that would be a backbone for the war effort. Lyle so often told me stories of his boyhood enchantment seeing military men, imagining their adventures and travels, and how their tattoos burned curiosity and wonder in his young soul. A few years into his tattoo career he then proudly served in The Marines in The Korean War. But throughout his life respectfully warned of the ravages of going to war and was a proponent of peace keeping. Lyle himself was a humble but very knowledgable scholar on WW2, and one of his greatest outside tattoo history interests was ship building, and seafaring history. He often denied expertise on historic and broad conversational subjects, but I can attest to his being extremely well read, and that his constant love of learning fed endlessly into his being a wonderful conversationalist.
-From audio with Lyle Tuttle and Danielle Boiardi recorded by Brandi Howell Summer 2018
Army & Air Corps
“Nothing can stop the Army Air Corps!” - from “Army Air Corps” song ( Off we go, into the wild blue yonder..) written by Robert MacArthur Crawford.
Our first involvement in WW2 began with the Army Air Corps. The U.S.A.C. eventually became the U.S. Air Force in 1947.
“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 - A date which will live in infamy - The United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. ”
Pearl HArbor
Below is an interactive map of Pearl Harbor
Zoom in or out to gain perspective on the geography of The Pacific
“ I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with terrible resolve ”
“...Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue.”
The War In The Pacific
The Marines
Devil Dogs|Bulldogs|Semper Fidelis
The NAVY
“A good Navy is not provocation to war. It is the surest guarantee of peace” - Theodore Roosevelt
☆ NAtionalism ☆
The nationalistic designs for WW2 tattoos included endless versions of American flags, eagles, American shields, and of course the stars and stripes. Some designs would even include the flags our our WW2 allies. Every service branch could adapt these designs to make them specifically their own with the addition of, for example, an anchor for The Navy, or a propellor for The Air Corps. The nationalism tattoo designs were worn so proudly on biceps, chests, backs and everywhere in between as American forces entered the war with the heroic goals of liberation and victory.
Bert Grimm
Any time I asked Lyle about his greatest influences, Bert Grimm was always named as his number one. Grimm’s artistry was majestic, and his post WW1 era designs laid the important groundwork for the creative designs and tattoo design icons of WW2. In Lyle’s words, “he was so fast, and so good, and just the master of masters”. Grimm’s St. Louis shop was already a huge success in the 40’s, but he took it up a notch by creating a shop adjoined photo studio for his tattoo clients. You could say that he was the ultimate early American tattoo entrepreneur. Below are a few photos of Grimm’s clients, all WW2 era. They show American flag nationalism tattoos, social security numbers, naval designs, and even a V for Victory tattoo. See one of Bert’s early clients, a very young Bob Shaw, who would later become Bert’s co-worker and American tattoo legend.
The “V” symbol was perhaps the most rallying propaganda for WW2 allied victory. The V was universal, being the first letter of victory in English, French, and Dutch, and with the added Morse Code symbols, dot dot, dot, dash, also for the letter “V”. The ”V'“ for Victory design shown below is a great example of how popular culture of the era would eventually make its way into the tattoos that inspired and emboldened our servicemen.
WWII Tattoo PhotoGraphy
George & Leslie Burchett
George Burchett had already been Britain’s world class tattoo artist for over forty years when WW2 began. He was visionary in his high level fine art designs and thoroughly modern in his enthusiasm for cosmetic tattooing. He was still a very active part of his shop at Waterloo Rd. during the great war, tattooing both American and allied servicemen in what was for them, a rare moment of peace and self indulgence. At right are two particularly special WW2 era paper artifacts from The George Burchett Collection. The “True Love” sketch, on their stationery, was most likely done by Leslie, who at the time had long since been tattooing with his father. The Burchett collection contains many paper miniatures and often, tattoo designs were sketched on repurposed clippings. In some cases, the father son duo took inspiration from and then embellished magazine art. Paper tattoo stencils are the earliest form of modern tattoo stencil, and many in The Burchett Collection were created with the hectograph print process. All of these early artifacts have an undeniable ethereal beauty and some were even created on early window shade fabric scraps. The photo of George Burchett tattooing is an important one for WW2 History, because it shows American and allied servicemen together getting tattoos.
“True Love” Swallow pen sketch, c. 1940’s, attributed to Leslie Burchett
WW2 U.S. Army Air Corps 9th Air Force Class design paper tattoo stencil, c. 1940’s, by George or Leslie Burchett
George Burchett Tattooing U.S. and Allied soldiers, c. early 1940’s.
☆ Superstition & Protection ☆
“Every man needs his Siren to check his courage and strength when he hears her song in his travels through the unknown.”
Pigs and roosters, mermaids, “Rock of Ages” and nautical designs all were part of the protection and superstition tattoos of WW2 Tattoo Art History. These are the designs that gave our servicemen that extra boost of confidence, luck and spiritual solace during the perilous conflicts that defined the war and their time abroad.
WWII Pin-Up Designs | The “Constant Companion”
Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth were the screen stars and print pin-ups of the WW2 era, but pin-ups also made their way into WW2 Tattoo Art and designs. Countless servicemen chose pin-up tattoos to be their far away from home “constant companion” in wartime, and Lyle’s collection shows that every service branch had specific pin-up designs. The artistic flash design touches honored the soldier and sailor’s proud area of military service, with matching sailor’s “gob” cap, uniform colors and flight wings.
Cartoons
The comic relief and cartoon tattoo designs of WWII fostered camaraderie, friendships, and much needed levity in the terrifying landscape of war.
Acetates
The acetates and tattoo stencils in Lyle’s collection are truly artifacts from another time in Tattoo Craftsmanship. In the WW2 era, artists would purchase acetate sheets and sparingly fill them to create and maximize space for as many designs as they could. They carefully incised designs in the plastic, typically with phonograph needles and then would embed drugstore charcoal powder in the acetate, many times to be reused into the future on different clients. Making acetates has become a lost art to many modern day artists, but their history has so much to tell us. I’ve chosen some WW2 specific design acetates that mirror many of the flash designs/ or era classics. In some special cases, the acetates were only recently discovered during collection sorting and moving just after Lyle’s passing. Most of the acetates done by Brooklyn Joe Leiber, were miraculously discovered just last summer. See the Popeye “BJL” acetate in the cartoon section. On many of them he signed his initials, and although so fragile, they have thankfully weathered the test of time. Acetates below are left to right by: Sailor Bill Killingsworth, Long Andy Library, unknown, and “Brooklyn” Joe Lieber.
Business Cards
Artist Profile: Sailor Bill Killingsworth
Killingsworth’s history in the tattoo world is infamous and yet quite respected. His tattooing had endless character, humor and creativity. He was part of the early guard of American tattooers who tattooed as part of their circus travels, and his signature style was as folky and edgy at it was traditional.
Thank you for your support! Hold Fast…
All images are property of The Lyle Tuttle Collection. Reproduction and copyright is restricted and unauthorized without permission. Image use or reproductions from this exhibit, including social media platforms, is restricted and not authorized.