Inked Mag Staff
July 1st, 2021
100 American Traditional Tattoos for July 4th
Do you love American Traditional tattoos?
When you think of America, what comes to mind? Well, I think of red, white and blue, bald eagles, hot dogs and motorcycles. And of course, there’s nothing more American than American traditional tattooing. American traditional tattooing began to gain traction during the 1930s, as a rejection of conformity and the American Dream. It began getting picked up by sailors during WWII, notably Norman Collins (a.k.a. Sailor Jerry), who popularized the style and brought it to Hawaii. Today, American traditional remains one of the most popular styles in tattooing and it’s not going anywhere any time soon.
American traditional is just plain iconic. It’s exceptionally recognizable, both in the way it’s technically applied and the images that it’s synonymous with. While other tattoo styles have inevitably come and gone, American traditional has stood the tests of time and is undeniably classic. From panthers to tigers, bald eagles to sparrows, skulls to lady heads— there’s no getting rid of American traditional (not that anyone would want to). And while some American traditional artists play by the rules set in place decades ago, others tweak the style and make it their own.
Take a look at 100 iconic American Traditional tattoos from some of the best tattoo artists in the world in the gallery below. Then let us know your favorite American traditional flash image in the comments section on social media.
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