Some of you might not have heard of George Burchett.
But "The Great Omi" does ring a bell, doesn't it? Good!
Mr. Burchett was the guy who tattooed the latter, and
this is his biography. He had been working on it before
he died, but it is thanks to Peter Leighton that we are
offered an insight into the life of a rather outstanding,
adventurous human being, who still receives an awful
lot of credit by many of today's top artists.

Burchett was a true pioneer, who explored the world
as far back as 1890-something. Check this: he even
got tattooed in Japan around 1900! If only he knew...

After settling down in London, he became (arguably)
the first star tattooist, attracting European Royals, as
well as keeping busy applying permanent make-up (!)
to many a High Society Lady.

As you might have guessed, this book is full of anec-
dotes, amusing stories, and even interesting tattoo
infos. Some photographs, too, but black and white
only.

Original (hardcover) published in 1958 by Oldbourne
London; Paperback first published in 1960 by Pan,
London. American editions came out later.

Rather rare (the paperback more so than the hard-
back). I sometimes get my hands on a copy, but the
price usually puts off people who are not very serious
collectors.