shaneenholm

thank you I am ashamed to be a human being....right now

cant post it..image shack and I am beiong forced to write this reather than just delete

second pic too big not computer savvy...sorry this aint about old machines but 32 tigers or less than 32 tigers makes me ashamed...billions of people 32 tigers..humans...fucked up

i was at work when i wrote this today so i forgot a few things......some interesting things were Tex would not let anything with the # 13 in his shop. So there was no #13 flash...no # 13 drawer,or set up etc....Jennie did a # 13 sheet upon Texs death in 1992...it is a copy of a crowe sheet..the one with the rebel flag draped reaper..i bought it from her because i thought that was too cool.

also the bathrooms used to say "Men" and "Ann"(for the womens) I looked through their logbooks and like on one day it was panther, panther, Panther, eagle,devil with wings, dagger, panther , eagle, eagle, eagle, eagle it was just endless.

people that see them at conventions may see their coleman machines and othr stuff they have. One of the frames they had I knew was a coleman but people had misidentified it as a Zies victory. Actually paul rogers had made Rollo a liner out of one of these frames and Paul told Mike it was a Coleman.I think perhaps Huck made the frames for coleman,because huck was close with coleman and stayed close until coleman drown.In fact there is a liteweight Coleman rebuilt for huck up at the Spaulding compound,I think we have a tendency to think of Coleman in the 20s 30s and 40s but he was around much later than that. though they closed him down in 1950 or 51. He went to work after a short retirement at the peaces shop in portsmouth. So ledann who remembers Coleman when he was a kid is one of the last living links to Coleman. Huck Spaulding is still alive but in no condition to talk anymore.

As sailor jerry said in a letter to ed hardy if you wanted a coleman tattoo huck was the one you should go to...(not to get too sidetracked but Huck got a bad rap because of how open he was selling tattoo stuff but he pales in comparison with what people are doing today)

most of the flash that was colemans that we see today has huck or pauls writing on the back that sez "this is colemans"...very few sheets were signed...i dont think he tripped on it too much as he made flash to sell designs not as fine art.we saw quite a few sheets Coleamn did while he worked at the peaces...(a few sheets can be bought if you contact me)

We dug through boxes of acetates,alot celluloid, alot of Colemans grimshaws etc...It was amazing...I remeber thinking about when i got my first tattoo down at the pike 30 years ago the designs were very similar to the ones jennie was drawing with the magnifying glass and scott and i both said we would have picked from them years ago. Anyway just an added note this christmas eve

yes the stamps....i have two more that are arms..tattooed arms that Fowkes would make you or me business cards with 15 words for 4.00 for 100...I also got 4 machines ,his power supply ,tubes,a couple books(even a minature razor that was sharpened in an arc to shave arms with..etc..It is funny because 5 years ago a close friend of mine Terry stafford(and a smokin machine builder too) sent me pics of this stuff to identify...and I was lucky enough to get them,and give a generous price to another great guy graham...I had no idea what I would uncover...though i did already own 2 fowkes machines and I only knew Mike skivers to have one(though i am sure there are others floating around)

what I have uncovered is just amazing...History tends to go from Captain cook to orielly and then jumps to waters...but we are finding out all kinds of people were building machines and selling supplies E.E. brown, Rebec,Fowkes, etc....there will be a shitload of this revealed soon ....I got a booklet in the stuff called "the art of tattooing in ancient and modern times"(sounds familiar) that fowkes wrote..it is the size of a deck of cards...and later found waters was selling the last of them in his 1923 catalog saying after they were gone there would be no more...amazing stuff...and i want to spill all the beans but i am working on a historical newsletter with a friend/collector that keeps me from saying more..FORGIVE ME

Yes deb..and he said that through out the whole thing..how you had a deep and real relationship with Paul,how we should all live our lives like paul,and then the funeral and those great points that have been overlooked...you were on my mind and Erics alot during this...there are not many people around that had that special bond with him...I know kandi did too..but she did not have the time you did...I am beyond excited for everyone to hear Erics story..it is a good one...as you know...and the legacy of Paul living on in all of you and even beyond you guys directly in those you guys touched..(mike etc...)

thanks deb...you know we know the guy was a scoundrel....we had heard he had murdered a couple people....the trip just took on that theme....like Scott getting pulled over and rolling down the window and saying to the tropper "fine me or fight me" but it was very clear that that guy had some bad kharma...

However you and i know and most people know that is the beautiful thing about tattooing(and one i fear will be destoyed by the mainstream of it all now) the characters that were into this hustle.

THANKS DEB.....

THANKS DEB!!!!!!!...WE HAD QUITE A TRIP......