Ben Corday Tattoo Travel Book

A rare glimpse into the early days of modern tattooing. The Ben Corday Tattoo Travel Book is a hardcover facsimile of a personal flash album created by legendary tattooer Ben Corday while traveling as a carnival performer and tattoo artist in the early 1900s. The designs—fine-line ink and watercolor pieces—were originally painted individually and pasted into a leather souvenir photo album as Corday moved from town to town.

This edition reproduces 26 pages of Corday’s flash at their original size, preserving the delicate linework and classic motifs that helped shape early American tattoo imagery. Alongside the artwork are historic photographs, pitch cards from Corday’s career, and an introduction by Don Ed Hardy, with additional historical notes sourced by Lyle Tuttle.

More than a flash book, it’s a small time capsule from the era when tattooers traveled with carnivals and carried their artwork from town to town in handmade albums.

Features:
• Artist: Ben Corday
• Author / introduction: Don Ed Hardy
• 36 pages total
• 26 pages of reproduced flash at original size
• Hardcover binding
• Size: 8" × 10"
• Includes historic photos and pitch cards from Corday’s career
• Originally released in 2010 by Hardy Marks

Early tattoo flash, preserved exactly the way a traveling tattooer carried it a century ago.