The Tattoo Encyclopedia: A Guide To Choosing Your Tattoo

Tattoos are raging in popularity today, with no signs that demand for them will be abating any time soon. In 1996, tattooing emerged as the sixth fastest growing industry in the country (behind internet and cell phone companies) and it is estimated that one new tattoo shop opens every day. A 2003 Harris Poll found that while 16% of the population is tattooed, that number blossoms to 36% for people between the ages of 25 and 29. However, for people contemplating their first (or fifth) tattoo, the choice of an image is often a stumbling block. A comprehensive, informative exploration of the colorful world of tattoos, The Tattoo Encyclopedia presents concise descriptions of symbols both common and unusual, and sheds light on their historic, religious, and cultural significance.

Organized in a convenient A-Z format, cross-referenced, indexed, and illustrated with 300 pieces of authentic tattoo line art by world renown tattoo artist Greg James of Sunset Strip Tattoo in Hollywood, it features a stunning array of images from ancient Buddhist and Chinese designs to those sported by twenty-first century bikers. The definition of each symbol (over 800 symbols) includes the widely accepted interpretation based on historical fact and cultural sources, as well as various interpretations that have developed across different cultures and time periods. Whether choosing a personally significant tattoo, wanting to learn more about a symbol, or simply interested in tattoos as a form of art and body decoration, readers will discover the richness of tattoo culture in this fascinating treasury.

“Looking for that perfect gift for your teenage son or daughter – that free-spirited, be-myself, make-a-statement child whose idea of establishing an identity is permanently dying their skin? Voila. It’s ‘The Tattoo Encyclopedia … ‘” — The St. Louis Dispatch

“Everything you wanted to know about tattoos but were afraid to ask….. the book will not only provide an invaluable tool to artists and collectors alike, it’s also a great read for trivia buffs.” — Tattoo Revue magazine

“… delves into the fascinating realm of why people get tattoos and what images they choose.” — Publisher’s Weekly

“Guilty pleasure” — Kansas City Star

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25th Annual Colorado Book Market Seminar

The 25th Annual Out-of-Print & Antiquarian Book Market Seminar convened in scenic Colorado Springs this past August 3-8th. Thirty-six participants from all over the United States and Canada found their way to the foot of Pikes Peak for an intense week of lectures, discussions, networking, and hands-on learning at the unofficial “Boot Camp for Booksellers.” As coordinator, I had been working at my job since early in the year; gathering and organizing information, answering queries, sending confirmations and encouraging interested people to register. It is always a great pleasure for me to meet and greet participants as they arrive on the Colorado College campus where I can finally put a name to a face! At registration on Sunday afternoon, we armed participants with notebooks, t-shirts, book bags and maps to prepare them for the busy week ahead. Later that evening we all gathered at a reception and Keynote address, which is a wonderful opportunity to meet faculty and fellow students, and begin “networking.” In addition, the Keynote address and reception is the only portion of the seminar open to the public, so we invite local booksellers, librarians and even former seminar participants who have stopped by on the way home from the Denver Book Fair to join us for the evening. Of course after introductions, the highlight of the evening is always the Keynote address. This year’s talk was delivered by Dan DeSimone, Curator for the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection of the Library of Congress. In addition to stories about his experiences in the book trade, Dan outlined strategies and practical advice to booksellers for developing professional relationships with libraries as customers. One enthusiastic participant commented that DeSimone’s speech was worth the total price of the whole seminar!

“The Faculty was beyond outstanding.” 2003 participant.

In addition to Dan De Simone, who stayed for the week after his Keynote presentation, this year’s faculty included experts in many areas of the book business. Michael Ginsberg, the seminar director, is a businessman, consultant, appraiser and past president of ABAA who led discussions on appraisals, book scouting, the mail order book business and directed the “Auction.” Ed Glaser, a veteran of all past book seminar faculties as well as noted specialist in rare and important books in science and medicine and another ABAA past president, is our expert on producing catalogs and on ethics in the trade. Jennifer Larson guided students through bibliographical description, an exhibition of binding and printing and led discussions on the Library as a market. This year, Jennifer was joined on the faculty by her husband and business associate Jeffrey Marks, a lawyer and bookseller. Jeff along with friend and partner Rob Rulon-Miller acted as Specialist Dealer describing adventures and experiences in high end book selling. John Townsend, owner of Town’s End Books, mail order specialist and our computer “wizard,” was our technology professor covering many aspects of this new and very important tool in the trade. Mary Ciletti and Lois Harvey, our outstanding Colorado business owners, taught practical lessons on owning and running a bookstore and on book fairs. Last, but certainly not the least, of our faculty members was Jim Canary, book conservator, repair specialist and Head of the Special Collections Conservation at the Indiana University Libraries. Jim ran several very popular and well-attended tutorials on the nitty-gritty of book repair and conservation.“I’m not sure how so many long days can make up such a short week!” 2003 participant.

The schedule was jammed packed from 8:30am Monday until the closing luncheon on Friday. Classes ran until 6pm most days and Tuesday and Wednesday included evening tutorials. Even lunchtime was used for casual discussions and individual one-on-one with faculty.

“Loved the time staff devoted to teaching, even at lunch.” 2003 participant Of all the special features of the seminar, the Auction Demonstration is one of the favorites and most fun. Items are donated by faculty, our friends in local book shops, and supportive businesses from all over the country. All proceeds are donated to the libraries that loan us reference books for the week.

At our final session on Friday, we said goodbye to our new friends and colleagues with hugs and certificates.

We eagerly collected evaluation questionnaires (submitted anonymously so we know they are going to be honest and critical) to begin work on improving the experience for our next seminar. It is always a pleasure to hear that we did a good job!

“Basically, this was one of the best weeks of my entire life! Not only did I get what I came for– a new direction for my business as well as better skills, but I was able to get to know people I would never have had the opportunity to meet and make friends with who will be a part of my life for years to come. It was an incredibly invigorating week.”

I look forward to Book Seminar 2004!

Kathy Lindeman, Book Seminar Coordinator

Pictures courtesy of Sue Gallagher, of Denver’s The Gallagher Collection, our great friend and perpetual volunteer!

Kathy Lindeman klindeman@ColoradoCollege.edu

Postcards of Nursing: A Worldwide Tribute

By: Michael Zwerdling zna@nursepostcard.com

Postcards of Nursing: A Worldwide Tribute is an extraordinary book detailing the history of 20th Century nursing through the eyes of artists and photographers using picture postcards. The book gives the reader a unique glimpse into nursing, and acts as a visual history of a profession that is quite unlike any other.

The book offers the symbols of nursing care, and nursing art in general, which have been created on postcards by the industry’s greatest artists, e;g. Wain, Mucha, Dudovich, Nanni, Kirchner, Bompard, Fisher, Sager, Schmucker, Gassaway, Drayton, etc. The art styles include art deco, art nouveau, modernism, impressionism, futurism and even anime and manga.

The book also has a very good selection of real photo postcards featuring studio portraits of nursing, nursing establishments, and on site clinical care specialties. There is a comprehensive section, comprising over 20 pages of illustrations, on royalty, which delineates their contributions, including of the funding of medical services, donation of funds to build hospitals and nursing schools and the actual nursing that royalty has done in the past century. Over ten wars are covered, with photos of nurses in action, as well as through the art used as Red Cross recruitment posters, propaganda for the war effort in general (including rare Third Reich Red Cross propaganda), and even hand-drawn postcards of nurses done by patients recovering in hospitals.

Naturally, the nursing profession has changed over the course of the century, and that change is reflected not only in the way the uniforms have changed (the book has a stunning comparative section of black and white uniform styles), but most noticeably in the way nurses have been portrayed in advertising, and on stage and screen. The book traces the development of U.S. advertising, using nurses as the model, from 1893 to 2002, and then illustrates the European varieties over the same period. Performers, likewise, are shown in a chronological sequence, from the silent movie era through Star Trek (the nurse on Star Trek was the wife of Gene Roddenbury, the series’ producer) to the modern magna advertisements popular in both Japan and the United States.

Postcards of Nursing is designed so the reader can approach each chapter as if it were a museum or gallery exhibit, each double-page spread representing one wall. If desired, he or she can read the narrative introduction to each exhibit (chapter) or simply walk right in, so to speak, and wander around. Captions offer insights into the pictures. Whenever the reader comes to an image of particular interest to him or her, the endnotes offer more detailed information. A bibliography and an index provide additional support.

At a time when the health-care profession is so clearly in the spotlight it’s nice to be able to take a step back and give credit to the men and women who make up the backbone of the profession-with a book that not only entertains but educates. A Worldwide Tribute indeed.

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I am a full time registered nurse, working in the ER of a central city hospital in Washington, D.C. Before I became a nurse, I was a martial arts instructor, and, although it may seem odd, I see nursing as a natural extension of the martial arts, which, after all, is based on the understanding that the opponent and the self are not two.

I have been collecting postcards for over 25 years, and, while a martial arts teacher, was a part time postcard dealer. Since becoming a nurse, and being interested in the historical aspect of the profession as well as the clinical aspect, I had nurtured a desire to contribute in both areas. In particular, I thought it a shame that the images of nursing as found on postcards, the most interesting of all the various graphic genres, were virtually unknown not only to nursing, but to the general public as well. I decided that one day I would find a way to return those images to the nursing heritage, to be enjoyed by both nurses and patients (the difference between the two is very, very slight…just a matter of time) but always had the project on the back burner, so to speak.

Then, one day, while driving home from work, I saw a billboard on the side of a gas station that said “A dream is a goal with no energy behind it.” That struck home, and from there the book took form. Three years later, with the help of hundreds of generous folks, you can now hold my dream in your hands.