A Roundtrip Ticket to Tattoo: From So. Cal. to Honolulu
Written & researched by Carmen Nyssen
History of Tattooing in Hawaii: Los Angeles Steamship Co.
Before the now renowned tattoo artist Sailor Jerry Collins arrived in Honolulu, a local tradition of the tattoo trade had been well established. A sure boon to its progression in the post-World War I to pre-World War II era was the founding of the Los Angeles Steamship Company (LASSCO) in 1920.
Originally created as a rapid passenger transport service between Los Angeles and San Francisco, LASSCO began offering Hawaiian excursions in 1921, vying for business with the long established San Francisco-based Matson Navigation Company. The venture was an immediate success, attracting a wide assortment of passengers, including Southern California tattoo artists.
There’s no question mainland tattoo artists had been visiting Hawaii’s capital city, Honolulu, via merchant and passenger ships in prior years. But the introduction of a new, direct route to and from Los Angeles opened a unique gateway of influence between Southern California and Hawaiian tattooers. While there isn’t much evidence for comparison in the way of early Hawaiian tattoo flash and photographs, the exceptional collective talent of Southern California tattooers at this time at least offers a reference point for the breadth of possible influence spilling over into Hawaiian tattoo work.
In Los Angeles alone there was Big Ben Corday, Jack Julian, Owen Jensen, Bert Grimm, L.L. McKeever, Harry V. Lawson, Red Gibbons, and the “granddaddy of all good tattooing,” Charlie Barrs—all within a several block stretch along South Main Street and all indisputably inspiring each other’s work. Tattooing further south, in San Diego, were Walter Torun and Jack Gavett.
Harry V. Lawson
Prof. Harry V. Lawson (Hurtle Vivian Lawson) may have been one of the first tattoo artists to visit the island and share his talents courtesy of a LASSCO liner. According to passenger manifests, on February 14, 1925, Lawson made his way to Honolulu on one of LASSCO’s flagships, the S.S. Calawai. And, he apparently made the trip at the request of a local tattooer.
As Owen Jensen informed Paul Rogers in a 1972 letter, in 1925 Lawson “went on a trip to Honolulu and tattooed with a Jap named George for about a year there.” A letter from Sailor Jerry to Ed Hardy, featured in Hardy’s book Sailor Jerry Collins: American Tattoo Master (pg. 57), specifies that it was actually George’s father, Sarato Yoshino, who summonsed Lawson from the mainland and paid him for flash and education, and that Sarato, in turn, taught George.
More than likely father and son received instructions from Lawson. Sarato Yoshino first appears as a tattoo artist in the 1924 Honolulu City Directory at 133 N. Hotel Street, offering “The Latest Japanese Designs.” By 1926, after Lawson’s visit, Sarato and George are both listed as tattooers located at 21 N. Hotel Street.
George tattooed in Honolulu into the 1940s. As witness to Lawson’s passed on skill, Sailor Jerry, a rare bestower of compliments, described George as a “good” artist.
Domingo Galang
Influences in tattooing likely also streamed in the reverse direction—from Honolulu to California. On October 25th, 1925, after eight months in Hawaii, Lawson returned to the mainland on the S.S. Calawai with a special guest in tow, the island’s premier tattoo artist, Domingo Galang.
Before the Yoshinos opened for business, Galang’s shop had been the only one listed in Honolulu city directories since the mid-1910s. Bert Grimm, who had two Galang tattoos, upheld him as a master shader. Meeting such a reportedly gifted tattoo artist must have been an exciting occasion for Los Angeles’ Main Street gang, and a fortunate opportunity. Galang stayed a week before returning to Honolulu. He died just 8 months later.
Harry Lawson, Walter Torun, Jack Gavett
Whether or not these initial exchanges paved the way for future collaborations, tattoo artists continued journeying aboard LASSCO’s liners to Honolulu, where they surely left their footprint on local tattooing. Harry Lawson returned in 1928 for another lengthy stay from Mar 17th to Aug 5th. Apparently, his influence on Honolulu tattooing carried through the years. During World War II, the Miller family, in-laws of Valentine Galang, Domingo Galang’s cousin, publicly announced that they “follow Harry Lawson’s methods.”
__
Walter Torun and Jack Gavett, associates in both tattooing and photography in San Diego, sailed there on the S. S. Calawai April 21st and remained until June 17th, overlapping two months with Lawson’s visit. In 1929, British tattooer Jim Wilson made the return journey from Honolulu to Los Angeles on the City of Honolulu, after a several month stay on the islands. Who these two tattoo artists worked with in Honolulu is unfortunately a mystery.
As an aside, LASSCO transported the Al G. Barnes Circus to and from Honolulu the off season of 1928. Their tattooed man at the time was Bert Price. See Buzzworthy Tattoo History article: Al G. Barnes Circus Tattooed Men: Frank Martin & Bert Price.
The End of the LASSCO Era
The Depression abruptly ended this chapter of tattoo history. On January 1, 1931, due to the collapse of the stock market and ever worsening national economic conditions, Matson Navigation Company took over operations of LASSCO, running it as a subsidiary only through 1937. Charlie Barrs and Owen Jensen visited Honolulu briefly in January and February of 1931, but these appear to be the last of any significant tattoo artist’s trips made on a LASSCO liner.
For more information on early Hawaiian tattoo artist history, see brief Buzzworthy Tattoo History bio Domingo Galang.
Source for Los Angeles Steamship Company background:
Ghareeb, Gordon, and Martin Cox. Hollywood to Honolulu: The Story of the Los Angeles Steamship Company. Providence, RI: Steamship Historical Society of America, 2009. Print.
- Tagged: Ben Corday Tattoo, Bert Grimm Tattoo, Bert Price Tattoo, Charlie Barrs Tattoo, Domingo Galang Tattoo, Frank Julian Tattoo, Harry Lawson Tattoo, Hawaii Tattoo History, History of Tattooing, Jack Gavett Tattoo, Los Angeles Tattoo History, Main Street Los Angeles Tattooing, Owen Jensen Tattoo, San Diego Tattoo History, Walter Torun Tattoo
- 5
Questions or Comments? Email:
carmennyssen@buzzworthytattoo.com
Latest Buzzworthy Posts
Latest Buzzworthy Posts
-
Templeton Crocker & Brooklyn Blackie: A Tattoo Tale with a Twist
3 years ago -
The Loryeas: A Jewish Immigrant Family’s Curious Connections with Tattooing
4 years ago -
Barnum & Bunnell’s Tattooed Humbugs: Manifesting a Tattoo Trade
4 years ago -
A Tattooed Affair: Earliest Tattooed Attractions
4 years ago -
Grand Lineages of Tattooing
5 years ago -
Wortham’s Shows Web of Tattooed Attractions
5 years ago -
Prof. Jacob Londella: Tattooer of San Francisco’s Old Chinatown
5 years ago -
Pacific Northwest Tattooers, Oregon Ben & Friends
5 years ago -
Portland Oregon’s Early Tattoo Traditions
5 years ago -
Tattoo Magic on Main Street
5 years ago