Biznes is Good

Out of place like a land-bound ghost in the fog, yellow street lights, the low growl of the trolley underground electric hum. Another low hummed transformer buzz from the Jesus Saves sign at the mission, snap up your collar, quicken your pace. I can see it all coming back dream-like now, one more for the road: Capt Jack Howard and Thomas Berg inkin' 'em up at the Midway down the street from the Mission, the Thalia. Barbary Coast alright. Sometimes even the swells would drop in with one of Madame Lil's free gold coins Hey, I thought this was free, What do you mean 5 cents for a beer? The Jesus Saves sign flickered, only salvation was promised for free.

 

Luck of The Irish

Tattoo artists often employed popular characters for sample art boards hanging in their atelier.  In this drawing by Thomas Berg, this pair from the comics are tossed in the mix with traditional sailors imagery of flags, dragons and, of course, mom.

Jiggs and Maggie

The humor centers on an immigrant Irishman named Jiggs, a former hod carrier who came into wealth in the United States by winning a million dollars in a sweepstakes. Now nouveau-riche, he still longs to revert to his former working class habits and lifestyle. His constant attempts to sneak out with his old gang of boisterous, rough-edged pals, eat corned beef and cabbage (known regionally as "Jiggs dinner") and hang out at the local tavern were often thwarted by his formidable, social-climbing (and rolling-pin wielding) harridan of a wife, Maggie, their lovely young daughter, Nora and infrequently their lazy son Ethelbert later known as just Sonny.

The strip deals with "lace-curtain Irish", with Maggie as the middle-class Irish American desiring assimilation into mainstream society in counterpoint to an older, more raffish "shanty Irish" sensibility represented by Jiggs. Her lofty goal—frustrated in nearly every strip—is to bring father (the lowbrow Jiggs) "up" to upper class standards, hence the title, Bringing Up Father. The occasional malapropisms and left-footed social blunders of these upward mobiles were gleefully lampooned in vaudeville, popular song, and formed the basis for Bringing Up Father. The strip presented multiple perceptions of Irish Catholic ethnics during the early 20th century. Through the character Jiggs, McManus gave voice to their anxieties and aspirations. Varied interpretations of McManus's work often highlight difficult issues of ethnicity and class, such as the conflicts over assimilation and social mobility that second- and third-generation immigrants confronted. McManus took a middle position, which aided ethnic readers in becoming accepted in American society without losing their identity. A cross-country tour that the characters took in September 1939 into 1940 gave the strip a big promotional boost and raised its profile in the cities they visited.

Courtesy Wikipedia.

Thomas Berg

Attributed to Thomas Berg, c1920's, this piece has been through the ringer. Chopped out section poses an interesting story: Piece taken home by a famous person to test out, contained Japanese imagery unpopular in WWII , or perhaps a bully just wanted a chop?

We will never know but in the words of Jim Laporte famous tattooist from the NuPike:

"The piece, as it is, speaks to me of tiny, dark, hole in the wall shops.
Hidden in skid row areas where sailors come to seek that which is found in those places.
Cheap booze, female companionship for a fleeting moment and a lasting memento of that respite, a tattoo.
Always, your pal, Jim Laporte"

The Greatful Crane

Cranes are common symbols and themes in the folklore of East Asia, including Japan. The Grateful Crane or the Crane Wife is a particularly well-known tale in Japan, see the resources below:
“The Grateful Crane” (Japanese fairy tale)

Thomas Berg, circa 1910 (Detail)

Cranes are an important motif in Chinese mythology. There are various myths involving cranes, and in Chinese mythology cranes are generally symbolically connected with the idea of immortality (Eberhard, 1983: 75-76). Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of China. The geographic area of "China" is of course a concept which has evolved of changed through history. Cranes in Chinese mythology include myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups (of which fifty-six are officially recognized by the current administration of China). (Yang 2005:4) The motifs of cranes may vary in a range from reference to real cranes (such as the Red-crowned Crane) to referring to transformed Taoist immortals (xian), who sometimes were said to have magical abilities to transform into cranes in order to fly on various journeys.

Samuel F. O'Reilly, circa 1880s (detail)

Saving Thomas Berg

Tom Berg sheets previously laminated sometime in the recent decades but dating back to the earliest times of the 20th century find new life in harsh solvents and patient restoration.

Learn how to remove glue based laminate from water color and inked paper while removing glue or rubber cement without damage in the process.