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Tattoo History
@the_sea_hag

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Mary Dean at her studio located at 1321 Congress Street, Houston Texas. Circa 1950. Mary Dean started tattooing sometime around 1928, she learned the trade from her then husband, Landy Dean, who she later divorced and opened her own shop. Mary didn’t only tattoo at 1321 Congress, she also ran a boarding house and removed tattoos. 

Bits of Mary’s life were chronicled by her friend Sigmund (Sig) Byrd. Sig was a prolific writer and Houston Press columnist. He chronicled the lives of the people living and working in Houston’s lower class neighborhoods from the 1940’s through the 1960’s. He became good friends with tattooist Mary Dean, who was often a subject in his writing. Byrd not only gives us a detailed glimpse into Houston’s tattoo history, but his articles do an excellent job of showcasing his subjects lives and personalities outside of tattooing. 

The sepia toned photos are from an article called “Women of the Needle”

Sources: The Digital Sig Byrd Archive, The Hulton Archive, Worthpoint 
. . . #tattoohistory #tattooing #tattoos #marydeantattoo #houstontexas