Hand drawn original vintage Stella and Deafy Grassman Tattoo Flash – Gandhi – 1920s - 1930s

drawing is 9-1/4" x 5-1/4" and appears to be unfinished

pencil, ink, and watercolor on heavy cardboard

This item is attributed to Stella and Deafy Grassman / Grossman as based on the original seller's description as to how they acquired it and what they were told 30 years ago, as described below. The time period and style of the subject matter lines up with the 1920s. 

All the flash listed is being sold as original and hand drawn from the time period noted.

All items listed are being sold as attributed since the flash is not signed, and no Stella and Deafy flash seems extant for comparison.

I was sent the following description from the seller regarding the Stella and Deafy material over two decades ago ago. The seller purchased the flash and stencils 10 years prior to that, so in the 1980s. The seller sent me a Xerox, front and back, of the RPPC but wouldn't sell it:

"Nice early tattoo flash we believe to be from Deafy and Stella Tattooing Artists. I recently acquired a collection of very early Tattoo Flash, along with original drawings and sketches. With this collection was a Real Photo Postcard of woman named Stella (marked on front), and also marked on the front of this postcard is “Tattooed by Deafy.” I recently saw another postcard on the internet very similar, of Deafy actually tattooing Stella. The gentleman I purchased this collection from says that he purchased the art 10 years ago from a woman who claimed to be Stella’s best friend. She said that Stella had moved to Hamilton Ontario Canada and the she passed away leaving her with all of her personal items. I assume that Deafy had moved here as well as some of the sketches and tother tattoos were drawn on various scraps of paper (some of which were old invites and letters that were dated around 1930). These scraps of paper had some addresses and some on invoices and letters as well, which were all Canadian addresses."

"The drawings were found in folders marked 'shop samples.' Some of the drawings are pencil, some are ink, and most you can see light pencil lines under the ink. These are all cut into single scrap sort of samples, as found. Believed to be done by Deafy Grossman of Deafy and Grossman Tattooing Artists, Philadelphia, who moved here to Canada. Some of the drawings are on old scraps of paper/light cardboard, some on the reverse of old invoices, some are done on very thin paper, and some on old line school notebook paper and whatever scraps of paper it seems he could get his hands on."

See my other listings of authentic vintage hand-drawn tattoo flash and stencils/tracings.

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