The following is a brief excerpt from Tattoo History: A Source Book, by Stephen G. Gilbert now available in print.

Tattoo History Source Book: Lyle Tuttle Interview

Lyle Tuttle interviewed by Steve Gilbert at the Richmond Tattoo Convention, November 23, 1996.

SG: When did you open your tattoo museum to the public for the first time?

LT: It was in July 1974. For years I had been making the collection, but I had it all in suitcases and stuff, and I never could find anything. So Davy Jones one day said to me "Why don't you lay the stuff out and put it on display, because other people would like to see it too." I would take people in and give them a private show one piece at a time. At that time I had some extra space - it was two floors of an office building near the Greyhound bus station in San Francisco.

SG: So how did you get interested in it? At that time, as far as I know other people weren't collecting tattoo history materials.

LT: It was great then - the prices - because now prices of old tattoo stuff have become ridiculous. It just made me richer. But a collector doesn't want to sell. We ll, how I got started - when I got my first tattoo, when I was 14, I saved the business card of the guy that I got tattooed by, and that was the start of the collection. And then I got tattooed a few weeks later again, and got a card from that guy, and if I get two of anything I'm dangerous, because it's the start of collection.

SG What are the most rare and interesting things in your collection of tattoo memorabilia? I heard that you bought the George Burchett collection.