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The Only Honest Skin Game in Town: The Tom Christopher Collection
The Only Honest Skin Game in Town: The Tom Christopher Collection
The Only Honest Skin Game in Town: The Tom Christopher Collection
The Only Honest Skin Game in Town: The Tom Christopher Collection
The Only Honest Skin Game in Town: The Tom Christopher Collection
The Only Honest Skin Game in Town: The Tom Christopher Collection
The Only Honest Skin Game in Town: The Tom Christopher Collection
The Only Honest Skin Game in Town: The Tom Christopher Collection
The Only Honest Skin Game in Town: The Tom Christopher Collection
The Only Honest Skin Game in Town: The Tom Christopher Collection

The Only Honest Skin Game in Town: The Tom Christopher Collection

$40.00
Shipping calculated at checkout.

*Ships Oct. 22

In the old days, a good set of flash was a tattoo artist’s stock-in-trade — bold, fast designs tacked to shop walls and strung up in arcades and carnival booths to draw people in. Customers didn’t need a plan; they just pointed at what they liked and took a seat. But those images carried weight — love, loss, who you were — and they kept the cash moving. The greats — “Brooklyn” Joe, Harry Lawson, “Sailor Jerry” — reworked and sharpened their designs until they had real bite. For them, flash wasn’t just a menu; it was reputation, currency in a tough trade.

Bray & Co. is pleased to present The Tom Christopher Collection, an extraordinary gathering of American and English tattoo flash painted between 1890 and 1960. These rare sheets, now recognized as important works of folk art, were never meant to outlast the careers they served, making it all the more remarkable that they survive today.

Through patience and persistence, Tom Christopher unearthed examples by some of the most influential tattooers in history, including Samuel O'Reilly, Percy Waters, Gus Wagner, Owen Jensen, Tom Berg, Stoney St. Clair, Bert Grimm, and many more. He sought sheets not only by the masters, but also ones that stand on their own—striking compositions that reward the eye. 

This auction catalogue represents the largest and finest private collection of tattoo masterworks and related artifacts ever offered to the public. It is a companion to a public auction to be held November 9, 2025. For more information, visit www.brayco.com

  • 8.5 x 10.75" 
  • Softcover 
  • 68 full-color pages 
  • More than a hundred sheets of tattoo flash, vintage photos, business cards, etc.
  • Printed in the United States