It’s hard to believe that in 17 days, I will be on the road touring with Volume One of the book series. The Canadian Electric tattoo scene project began 6,727 days ago; that’s 18 years and 5 months! These past 30 days have marked several milestones and steady progress forward. All the books for the pre-order and the book tour across Canada have been printed and sent to the bookbinder. With so many details to wrap up and pure exhaustion taking hold, this past month has proven to be the hardest mile in this journey. However, my passion and enthusiasm have not waned in the process.

The biggest milestone of the past month was holding a stack of papers that contained a hundred years of Canadian tattoo history. Printing out the first copy of the book brought a deep sense of gratitude for all the support this project has received over the past 6,727 days. I can't help but feel small in the midst of this endeavour. I was only 5 years old when Volume One of this series ends in 1980. Another milestone this past month was having Mike Austin over to print the book covers. Mike has been a gust of wind in the sails of this project since day one. His support has given more than he knows. The last milestone this past month was dropping off the book blocks to the binder. I’m only days away from holding a completed book in my hands. With time racing forward, it only seems fitting to share a bit about Speed Robinson this month.

1938–1957 | Speed Robinson (Vancouver, B.C.)

Speed Robinson, also known as A.G. Robinson, was born on September 30, 1910, in Ramsgate, England. His family immigrated to Canada in 1920 when he was 10 years old.

When Speed was 14, he was living in a small town near Belleville, Ontario. When the carnival came to town, he received his first tattoo. The moment he had his first tattoo put on, he knew that he would be involved with tattooing for the rest of his life. He felt an instinctive draw to tattooing. A number of people who get into doing tattoos can attest to his words. For some, the immediate draw is so strong that it’s almost impossible to disregard its call for us to do tattoos. Speed referred to this calling as an “unexplainable craving.”

 Speed Robinson tattooing a client. The Vancouver Sun, Sept. 8, 1952, p. 7. 

When a newspaper journalist asked him why people want tattoos, his reply was, “The nearest I could come to a solution, was that it must be due to some unsatisfied urge for art; some inner yearning that finds pictures on the wall too remote; and so seeks a sort of pictorial union of the spirit and the flesh.” He also felt that his customers were not overly interested in art, but rather they are interested in tattooing.  As a young man, he worked in the carnival.

He said, “The carnival is sort of a prep school for young tattoo artists.” Although there is no proof that he was tattooing before he began his apprenticeship with Doc Forbes from 1938 to 1941, in the same article where he referred to the carnival being a prep school, he also said, “You don’t do very good work when you start, but you are out of town before the customer has a chance to get really mad.” This implies that he was doing tattoos before he started with Doc.

Speed and Doc became business partners, and they owned two shops for a while. At the outbreak of WWII in 1939, they both tattooed on Vancouver Island, and after the war ended in 1945, Speed left Victoria.

Unlike his mentor, Speed kept a low profile, working quietly at his craft, primarily serving Vancouver’s working class. He tattooed in a few different locations in Vancouver until his passing.

Speed Robinson getting a tattoo from his mentor, Doc Forbes. The Vancouver Sun, Oct. 31, 1953, p. 21.