August “Cap” Coleman

Life & Work

The Art of August “Cap” Coleman

Cap Coleman grew up near Cincinnati and found his way into tattooing through the carnival trade, apprenticing under J.F. Barber and eventually joining Sheeshley Shows as both a tattooed attraction and a working artist. He opened his Norfolk, Virginia shop around 1918 and ran it for over three decades.

His designs were distinctive for their scale and patriotic boldness: full chest eagles, flag pieces, ships spread across the torso, sun designs on the kneecap, elaborate ankle decorations he called fancy sock designs. He displayed many of his signature compositions on a statue in his shop window. He called himself the Godfather of American Tattooing, and few who saw his work disputed the claim.

When Norfolk banned tattooing in June 1950, he was forced from his shop. He left his estate to Virginia charities and was found in the Elizabeth River near his home on October 25, 1973. A career of more than fifty years ended with a body of work that shaped how an entire region understood what a tattoo could look like.

The Godfather of American Tattooing. The eagles say it all.