George Earl Fosdick
Researched & Written by Carmen Nyssen
Born: January 14, 1885 Shawano County, Wisconsin
Died: February 3, 1946 Portland, Multnomah, OR
Cremated: Chapel of Portland Crematorium
Though not a Portland, Oregon native, “Sailor” George Fosdick made his mark as the city’s premier artist in the early half of the twentieth century. Fosdick started his working career as a car builder’s apprentice at age fifteen, while still living in Tacoma, Washington with his parents. But the lure of adventure hooked him before long.
Perhaps influenced by his seafaring and adventurous Grandfather, William Lawrence Fosdick, the young George Fosdick was sailing around the world on merchant vessels by the time he was twenty. In 1905, he traveled to Liverpool on the steel barque Dustaffnagge and stayed there for several months. Around 1907, he ended up in South America, where he worked for a year in the mines of the Cerro De Paso Mining Company; when he returned, in 1908, aboard the British barque Amazon, he gave an indepth newspaper interview about his experiences.
A 1924 comment about his time at sea: “…wanted to be a great artist. “But father had a large family; money wasn’t plentiful; so early in life I had to fend for myself. For a time I followed the sea; then later I learned the art whose age nobody knows.”
-Sailor George Fosdick. The Oregonian. July 27, 1924. Pg. 18
It was in the course of his high-seas jaunts, Fosdick said, that he learned the rudiments of hand-poked tattoos from an “old salt.” By at least 1912, he had landed in Portland’s Willamette River port tattoo scene, where he surely met the era’s premier tattooer in the city, “Sailor” Gus Franso (real name Carl Augustus Fransen) (1871-1919). This old veteran of the art plied his needle at Erickson’s Saloon, Fritz & Russell’s Saloon-Theatre, and similar such joints in Portland’s skid-road North End, and among other local needlers possibly taught Fosdick the ins-and-outs of electric tattooing.
Fosdick’s Early Years
Exactly when Fosdick forewent his sailor career and committed himself solely to the tattoo trade is unclear. In a 1924 Oregonian newspaper article, he claimed 1907 as the year he started his tattoo business in Portland—the city attached to his name. Yet several years after this date the 1910 Federal Census enumerates him as a street car conductor living in his hometown Tacoma. Within two more years, as noted on the certificate for his marriage to Eugenia McCollum Baker, he had taken up residence in Portland and was probably tattooing there then. But a 1910s seamen’s certificate, as well as a 1918 World War I Portland Draft Registration card, indicate that he was still working aboard merchant ships intermittently. At the start of 1920, he was in Tacoma again working as a lumberman.
Sailor George & Red Gibbons
No matter his other endeavors, Fosdick was still a figure in tattooing during the 1910s era. By World War I, he had partnered with Charles Wesley “Red” Gibbons (1879-1964), an ace tattoo artist, who according to city directories had set-up in Portland off-and-on since at least 1909. The two tattooed together at 275 Burnside—a location on the corner of 4th & Burnside, several doors away from Fosdick’s later shops at 267 1/2 and 269 ½ Burnside (269 became 319 after the city renumbered the streets c. 1933). Through his interactions with the talented Gibbons, Fosdick no doubt honed his tattooing skills a good degree more.
Sailor George & Bert Grimm
By 1923, when a young Bert Grimm trekked from Chicago to Portland looking to improve his skill set, Fosdick had earned his rank as Portland’s finest practitioner. In Grimm’s eyes, he was a top-notch tattooer; much admired for his specialty in black shading. Fosdick, Grimm said, was “welcoming as hell,” and willingly taught him the ropes.
During their stint together, they collaborated on several all over tattoo jobs. The tattooing on “Sailor” Carl Gunnar W. Lindquist (1896-1954) and Jesse Lester “Jay” Gage (1897-1971), particularly, showcases Fosdick’s ability and his influence on Grimm’s work.
Jesse Lester “Jay” Gage (1897-1971)
Max Bohm (1892-1964) was tattooed by Fosdick around the time Bert Grimm was in Portland, but it’s unclear whether or not his tattoo work was a collaboration.
George Fosdick’s Legacy
Fosdick reigned in Portland for many years (excepting a few excursions to Washington and California), etching the hides of in-port sailors—”tadpoles” and “old salts” alike.
Capt. Elvy aka Elvy F. “Cap” Campbell (1909-1975)
Tattooed several years before Sailor George’s passing, c. 1943.
1944 Jan 22 Billboard Magazine pg. 49
“AT LIBERTY – TATTOOED MAN AND TATTOOER. Completely tattooed new bright heavy work. State best offer with tattoo privilege. Sober and reliable. Captain Elvy, 211 S. Fryer Ave, Clay Center, NEB.”
Despite Sailor George’s grand tenure in the city, his familiar shopfront along Burnside’s skid-road faded into the past after his death in 1946. Lesser known tattooer Mason Currier Temple (1890-1948) and his partner Max Pelz (1906-1981) acquired his tattoo shop upon his passing and only operated there for a short time. But through the documented recollections of colleagues and proteges, such as Bert Grimm, Sailor George’s spirit and legacy live on. Pelz, who grew up in Portland and was possibly another of Fosdick’s student, summed up his character most fittingly in a 1949 Oregonian article:
“George the Sailor was quite a guy with plenty of profanity and regarded by his neighbors as an un-regenerate with many redeeming qualities.”
Fosdick Tattoo Tidbits:
1-Sailor George Earl Fosdick’s first cousin Inez, who was 105-years-old in 2010, knew him as Earl. Since his father’s first name was also George, in his youth he always went by his middle name to avoid confusion. “Lonesome Earl” was the name he used in his earliest years of tattooing, before he switched over to “Sailor George,” according to Bert Grimm.
2-During his years in Portland, George Fosdick was known to have worked with Red Gibbons, Bert Grimm, Fred Marquand, Waldemar “Walter” Larsen, Danny Danzl. He undoubtedly worked with others here, at times passed on his knowledge to those just breaking into the trade or honing their skills.
3-Sailor George Fosdick’s grandfather, William Lawrence Fosdick (1824-1899), wrote his memoirs, in 1897, My Voyage Around the Globe, about his adventurous exploits in the South Pacific (c. 1838-1846) and his sea travels, all because of the nudging of his children and grandchildren. For their encouragement, he dedicated the book to them.
Dedication: To gratify the wishes of my children and Grandchildren this work was undertaken; and to them it is affectionately dedicated …by The Author [W.L. Fosdick]”
For further context about Portland’s early days, visit Doug Kenck-Crispin’s Kick Ass Oregon History site, chock-full of interesting history and insights into Portland’s rich past.
Related Buzzworthy Tattoo History Articles:
See my biographical tattoo sketch on my Great Great Uncle Bert Grimm
Also see Buzzworthy Tattoo History short: Tales of Tattoo Wars & Troublemakers (Sailor Gus)
Questions or Comments? Email:
carmennyssen@buzzworthytattoo.com
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