Product Description

Despite a growing fascination with tattooing among social scientists - and the popularity of tattoos themselves in general - the practice of tattooing still lacks a comprehensive historical record. Until very recently, there was no good context for writing a serious world history of tattooing. The present volume for the first time manages to convey the richness of the history of tattooing from antiquity to the present day. Unlike most other tattoo books it does not describe one aspect but rather aims to convey the overall picture. Each of the seven continents is described in terms of tattoo history and tattoo practices. Thus the book provides the reader with a truly global view of tattooing. It adds new information and new examples and insights which help the reader to gain a new perspective. By combining empirical history, powerful cultural analysis, and a highly readable style, the author adds an important step to the ongoing effort of writing a meaningful cultural history of tattooing. He does not draw new conclusions or present shocking new theories, but suggests and invites the reader to form his own opinions. This publication presents the reader with an almost overwhelming amount of textual and visual information. From the well known examples from Tahiti to rarely seen Chinese tattoos, from the Ice Maiden to modern day Western tattoos; they are all there. Many of the approximately 400 colour illustrations are unique images that have never been published before.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #367152 in Books
• Published on: 2004-12
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 300 pages

About the Author
Maarten Van Dinther is a cultural anthropologist and one of the leading Dutch experts on tattoos. His research for this book took over 10 years.

Customer Reviews

Bad
Never Received Item. Wrote comment back to Amazon upon request of feed back. Have not received follow up or refund. Re-Ordered with different subsidiary and hope for better results.

*Intelligent and Tattooed? Buy this one. *
This is an amazing collection of images and information on tattoos around the world. This book is completely worth it to not only the naive belly button pierced,lower back tattooed 18 yr. old American female but also to the full body suited,societally rejected,modification community member.It is SUCH a great resource you'll want to lend it to everyone you know with an interest in the art. Buy it,you seriously will not regret it.

Focuses on world tattoo culture and traditions
Tattoos are an ever-increasing part of modern life and more tattoo books are being published as a result: but none quite so extensive or detailed as The World Of Tattoo: An Illustrated History, which focuses on world tattoo culture and traditions. With sections divided by area of the world and packed with pages of color photos, it's easy to focus study on one region - and with World Of Tattoo's focus on history and cultural insights, there's much more going on than just a photo display alone. Highly recommended not just for modern audiences interested in tattoo, but for any college-level collection strong in cultural references.