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Painted People
- A History of Humanity in 21 Tattoos
- Narrated by: Henry Nott
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
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Summary
In 1881, a writer in the Saturday Review called tattooing ‘an art without a history’. ‘No-one’, it went on, ‘has made it the business of his life to study the development of tattooing.’
Until now.
Painted People is a beguiling and intimate look at an untold history of humanity.
The earliest tattoos yet identified belonged to Ötzi, the ‘iceman’, whose mummy allows us a brief glimpse into the prehistory of the practice. We know that over the more than five thousand years since he was tattooed, countless cultures have performed this ancient practice, and people in every corner of the world have been tattooed. For the most part, these fascinating histories remain stubbornly untold, and the secrets of Siberian princesses, Chinese generals and Victorian socialites have been hidden on the skin, under layers of clothing and under layers of history. Now with access to a wealth of new and unreported material, this book will roll up its sleeves and reveal the artwork hidden beneath them.
In Painted People, Dr Matt Lodder, one of the world’s foremost experts on tattooing, tells the stories of people like Arnaq, who was tattooed in keeping with her cultural and religious traditions in sixteenth-century Canada, and Horace Ridler, who was tattooed as a means to make money in 1930s London. And in between these two extremes, he describes tattoos inked for love, for loyalty, for sedition and espionage and for self-expression, as well as tattoos inflicted on the unwilling, to ostracise. Taken together, these twenty-one tattoos paint a portrait of humanity as both artist and canvas.
What listeners say about Painted People
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- Anonymous User
- 01-12-22
A brilliant delve into an previously untold history
It was a really interesting book - I found it very digestible in audiobook form and the narrator strikes a good balance between factual and narrative in his reading.
Not my usual style of book that I read, but enjoyed it immensely!
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- Rachael P
- 16-08-23
Fascinating story telling of tattoo history
I decided to give this book a try after listening to the author on Kate Lister’s history hit podcast. I really like the structure of the book as it is organised chronologically but also tells stories about tattoos all across the world. It was a very personal approach. This book is ideal for anyone who has an interest in world history, fashion, culture, gender and anthropology.
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