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Time and Tide Museum: Tattooists' artworks go on display

An exhibition which tells the history of tattoos in Britain has opened in Great Yarmouth.

Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed features 400 items, including original artworks, photographs and paraphernalia.

Margaret Dewsbury, Norfolk County Council cabinet member for communities, said: "Hosting an exhibition about tattoos in Great Yarmouth - a town with such a rich maritime heritage - is a delightful link. However, visitors to this fascinating and wide-ranging show will soon discover tattooing is not just for sailors."

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News imageNational Maritime Museum Cornwall Tattooed armsNational Maritime Museum Cornwall
Richard Doughty, director of the National Maritime Museum Cornwall - which brought together the collection, said: "We are enormously proud of this groundbreaking and award-winning exhibition."
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News imageNational Maritime Museum Cornwall Tattoo sample sheetNational Maritime Museum Cornwall
The exhibition in Great Yarmouth includes examples of tattoo art going back to the early years of tattooing in Britain.
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News imageNational Maritime Museum Cornwall Tattooing equipmentNational Maritime Museum Cornwall
Tattoo equipment used by tattoists over the years will also be on display.
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News imageNational Maritime Museum Cornwall Tattoo ephemera through the yearsNational Maritime Museum Cornwall
The exhibition, collected by the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, includes the story of Britain's pioneering female tattoo artist, Jessie Knight.
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News imageNational Maritime Museum Cornwall Part of the archive of tattoo artist, Jessie KnightNational Maritime Museum Cornwall
It is estimated that about one in five of the UK population is tattooed and this figure rises to one in three for young adults.
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News imageNational Maritime Museum Cornwall Old tattoo designsNational Maritime Museum Cornwall
Jessie Knight (1904 - 1992), who was born in Wales, was the first prominent female tattoo artist in the UK.
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News imageNational Maritime Museum Cornwall The Great OmiNational Maritime Museum Cornwall
The Great Omi - born Horace Leonard Ridler (1882-1965) in Surrey, became a sideshow attraction due to his tattoos. The tattoo work by George ‘Professor’ Burchett (1872-1953) took 140 hours.

The exhibition is at the Time and Tide Museum until 8 March 2020.

Images provided by the National Maritime Museum Cornwall