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Lyle Tuttle (born 1931) is a well-known American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 tattoo artist
Tattoo artist

A tattoo artist is a person who applies permanent decorative tattoos, often in a dedicated business called a tattoo shop, tattoo studio or tattoo parlour....
 and historian of the medium, who has been tattooing since 1949.

le was born in 1931 and grew up in Ukiah, California
Ukiah, California

Ukiah is the county seat and largest city of Mendocino County, California. With its accessible location , Ukiah serves as the city center for Mendocino County and much of neighboring Lake County, California....
. At the age of fourteen he purchased his first tattoo for $3.50. In 1949 he began tattooing professionally. In 1954 he opened his own studio in San Francisco. This first shop was open for nearly 30 years.






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Lyle Tuttle (born 1931) is a well-known American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 tattoo artist
Tattoo artist

A tattoo artist is a person who applies permanent decorative tattoos, often in a dedicated business called a tattoo shop, tattoo studio or tattoo parlour....
 and historian of the medium, who has been tattooing since 1949.

Biographical and career information

Tuttle was born in 1931 and grew up in Ukiah, California
Ukiah, California

Ukiah is the county seat and largest city of Mendocino County, California. With its accessible location , Ukiah serves as the city center for Mendocino County and much of neighboring Lake County, California....
. At the age of fourteen he purchased his first tattoo for $3.50. In 1949 he began tattooing professionally. In 1954 he opened his own studio in San Francisco. This first shop was open for nearly 30 years. Tuttle tattooed Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin

Janis Lyn Joplin was an United States singer, songwriter, and music arranger, from Port Arthur, Texas. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company, and later as a solo artist....
, Cher
Cher

Cher is an American pop music singer-songwriter, actor, film director and recording industry. She has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame....
, Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda

Henry Jaynes Fonda was an United States Academy Awards-winning film and Stage actor, best known for his roles as plain-speaking idealists. Fonda's subtle, Naturalism acting style preceded by many years the popularization of method acting....
 and several other notable musicians and celebrities of the time.

He has been tattooed on six continents, and has never knowingly tattooed a minor. He has become a legend and a teacher within the industry in the years he has been tattooing. He officially retired in 1990 but will still occasionally tattoo his signature on a friend or acquaintance. His fame within tattooing was somewhat controversial, as many tattooists of his day disliked his statements to the press and "shameless self-promotion".

Tuttle currently teaches accredited seminars in "Tattoo machine maintenance and machine building" at tattoo conventions around the United States.

When asked what made tattooing gain in popularity during his early career, he responded:
"Women's liberation! One hundred percent women's liberation! That put tattooing back on the map. With women getting a new found freedom, they could get tattooed if they so desired. It increased and opened the market by 50% of the population - hell of the human race! For three years, I tattooed almost nothing but women. Most women got tattooed for the entertainment value ... circus side show attractions and so forth. Self-made freaks, that sort of stuff. The women made tattooing a softer and kinder art form."


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