Tom Stephen was tattooed by Bert Grimm in St. Louis, Missouri, during the 1940s. A 1943 St. Louis newspaper article provides some background on Stephen. At the time, he was a military sergeant stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi. For three years, he traveled to St. Louis to be tattooed by Bert Grimm. Stephen stated that after the war, he intended to go into exhibition. We have no record of Stephen ever working in the circus or carnival world. This photograph was sold by the Zeis Studio in Rockford, Illinois, as indicated by the stamp on the back. Milton Zeis operated a major tattoo supply business and sold photographs of heavily tattooed people for many years.
Photograph 4 x 6 inches
