Archive Note
Joseph Hartley is documented as Bristol's earliest tattoo artist and a foundational figure in the British provincial tattoo lineage. In 1928 he taught Les Skuse to tattoo, and Skuse went on to found the Bristol Tattoo Club in 1953 and organize the world's first tattoo competition in 1955, making Hartley the root of that influential family and club. His birth year is unresolved in the available record.