The Old Glory Tattoo shop is in Derby, Kansas, a suburb of Wichita.That's where Ron Dolecek plies his trade.
He says he'll never forget the day, almost two decades ago, when one of his customers came into his shop carrying something rolled up under his arm."He says, 'I think you're going to want to see this,'" Dolecek remembers.The man unfurled a hand-painted sideshow banner showing a woman covered in tattoos, draped in gauzy fabric against a faded yellow background.Dolecek says he was captivated.He thought he recognized the tattooed figure as Maud Stevens Wagner, a turn-of-the-century performer who became an icon of American tattooing."I'm instantly doing the math in my head, like; Who can I call? Where can I borrow money?" Dolecek says.
"Because this is not leaving my shop."The banner was painted years before to entice carnival visitors to see a sensational spectacle.For Dolecek, it was a tangible piece of history.The customer told Dolecek he found it in an abandoned farmhouse near Cedar Point, Kansas, in the Flint Hills, while exploring with friends."They went upstairs and found steamer trunks full of tattoo memorabilia," including tools, pigments, flash (pre-drawn) designs and sideshow banners, Dolecek says.
"So this fellow realizes that he's found something significant," Dolecek added.At a time when women couldn't vote and career options were limited, Wagner forged her own path as an entertainer and artist.Born in Emporia, Kansas, she became one of the most recognizable women in early American tattooing.A striking 1907 photograph shows Wagner sitting elegantly with her tattoos on full display.
A woman riding a lion appears on her chest and her arms display a riot of creatures, with Kansas sunflowers peeking out on each elbow.It's among the most downloaded tattoo-related images in the Library of Congress."For me, that photograph, it's a Mona Lisa pose, because it's very enigmatic," says Alan Govenar, an author and filmmaker who published three books on the ...