Published: 9 October 2018
Last updated: 5 March 2024
The exhibit tells the reconstructed story of Albert Morton Kurzman, aka “Lew the Jew” Alberts, a profoundly influential figure in the world of American tattooing. Born in New York in 1880 and active in the first half of the 20th century, Lew created a series of iconic all-American designs, which were later replicated by numerous other tattooers all across the country.
Having learned the art of tattooing while stationed in the Philippines during his army service in the Spanish-American War, Alberts crafted and patterned an electrical machine, which sped up and thus radically transformed the technique of tattooing.
While somewhat updated, the basic design is still in use in numerous shops. Alberts studied wallpaper design and engineering at the Hebrew Technical Institute, a Lower East Side vocational school for impoverished Jewish immigrant youths, and so was able to combine his technical and artistic knowledge to create his device.
FULL STORY Lew the Jew’s tattoos (Tablet)
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An exhibit on Jewish life during World War I energises a Midwestern community
Photo display: Courtesy of Tattoo Archive: 'Lew the Jew and His Circle: The Origins of American Tattoo,' on view through June 9, 2019, at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco)
