Quarantined and Sequestered: Tattoo Charlie's and Tattoo Regulation in Baltimore, 1938 to 1980

Abstract

The scholarship on American tattoo history is characterized by its chronological gaps and lack of varied perspectives or methodological approaches. This research focuses on a Baltimore tattoo business'shistory from 1938 to 1980 to shed light on under-researched decades in current tattoo historiography and to incorporate urban history into those discussions. The analysis of Tattoo Charlie'son Baltimore'sinfamous ?Block? argues that the municipal leaders constructed ordinances regulating tattoo shop operation in Baltimore to separate the people associated with tattooing from the general public. In 1953, the Baltimore City Council approached tattoo legislation with the goal of constraining tattooing rather than outright banning it. Baltimore'sstrategy was completely different than cities like Norfolk and New York in the same time period, whose governments passed ordinances that outlawed tattooing and scattered tattoo shop owners back to the profession'snomadic roots. These conclusions surrounding Baltimore urban and tattoo business histories serve as initial steps in broadening the scope of both discussions.