Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors

Written by Margaret Hodges and Derin Bray, Foreword by Danielle Boiardi


A lively, richly illustrated family biography of pioneering Boston tattoo

artists Edward "Dad" Liberty and his sons Frank, Harold, and Ted.

Accompanied by a lush catalogue of historic tattoo flash art.


- 9 1/2" x 11 1/2"


- Hardcover


- 160 full-color pages


- 700+ newly-discovered designs painted by the Libertys, Ben Corday,

Frank Howard, Ed Smith, and others.


- 70+ illustrations of never-before seen photographs, business cards,

tattoo machines, shop signs, and much more.


- Printed in the United States

Through the complex, deeply human story of an iconic family of Boston tattooers, Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors forges a deeper understanding of the history of a vernacular art form and the folk who made a living from its subversive attractions. From the 1910s until 1962, when Massachusetts banned tattooing statewide, Edward "Dad" Liberty and his three sons held a near-monopoly on the Boston tattoo scene from their shops in Scollay Square, the city's gritty entertainment district. Over their lifetimes, the Liberty men accumulated an unmatched collection of hand-painted tattoo flash art, photographs, machines, shop signs, correspondence, ephemera, and family memorabilia. Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors brings together this evocative, sometimes eye-popping material to create a groundbreaking visual and narrative history of tattooing in Boston. It is an appealing work for general readers and tattoo enthusiasts, as well as a definitive resource for tattoo artists and historians of popular culture.