The Council of the Seven

In December 1972, Sailor Jerry Collins hosted the first international tattoo convention in American soil, and he dubbed the seven artists “The Council of the Seven.” Shanghai Kate says that it was truly the first time a group of international tattoo artists got together in one place to discuss the very weird enterprise they were all struggling to define in their own minds.

The attendees were: Sailor Jerry, Jerry’s apprentice, Ed Hardy, Michael Malone, Shanghai Kate, Kazuo Oguri from Japan and Des Connelly from Australia.