Over the last month, I’ve made so much forward movement; as I sit here on my couch in my home in Dorchester, it still feels like I am moving. The book tour was a huge success! I travelled about 20,000 km, saw both sides of our beautiful country, and met some incredible people along the way. The tour's highlights came daily, and I think it will take many months to unravel what happened. We made and shared Canadian tattoo history along the way. Because of the enormous distance I had to travel during the tour, I didn’t get to spend as much time with as many people as I would have liked. However, I feel there will be another book tour before this project is complete.

I want to thank all the shops that hosted my book signings, and everyone who purchased a book or came out to support the project. I’m also grateful for Eikon's support every step of the way. My compact SUV was packed to the roof right up until I left Vancouver to come home. Before I left for the tour, I dropped off all the books at Eikon headquarters in Kingston, Ontario, so they could ship them as needed throughout the tour. This is just one of the many ways Eikon has stepped in to help with the project.

I sold all the hardcover books during the tour, so my next task is to make a few corrections in the book, and then print the next round. This month's featured old-timer is Tiny Moore. Tiny not only had a hand in getting Beachcomber Bill into tattooing, but he also helped Al Newcombe’s wife become the Atomic Princess when she took over the dynamite coffin act, which you can read about in Al’s profile in the book. Tiny is another unsung hero and showman in the Canadian electric tattoo scene.

EST. 1940s–1970s | Tiny Moore (Toronto, Ontario)

Thomas Leo Moore, better known as Tiny Moore, was a tattooist who toured with several carnivals in the mid to late 1940s to the 1970s. He ran away from home when he was 14 and joined the circus. His first job was taking on the role of Tonga. This involved wearing a gorilla suit to perform in the Beauty and the Beast act. He was also “The Mighty Humphrey,” the 500-lb. wrestler, the Human Cannonball and, his most prized gig, the Human Bomb act. In 1948, he perfected his Dynamite Coffin act, which involved blowing himself up. He toured his Human Bomb act in the Buddy Wagner’s Tournament of Thrills Show in 1948.

Lucky Lorrie O'Day newspaper feature. Abilene Reporter News, July 7, 1967, p. 12. Tiny had to give up the Dynamite Coffin act when he ballooned to 600 pounds. Over the 16 years of performing that act, he broke four front teeth, six fingers, and five ribs. When he could no longer safely perform it, he convinced his wife (Lorrie Moore) to take it over. Lorrie, a 4-foot-10-inch waitress from Sarnia, adopted the stage name Lucky Lorrie O’Day and did the act for seven seasons. However, she became too fat to do the show once she bloomed up to 208 pounds, forcing them to retire the show until a chance meeting with Al Newcombe and his wife, Wilma. Over breakfast at Al’s home in London, Ontario, Tiny and his wife were convinced that Wilma was the perfect person to take over the show.

In the 1970s, Tiny took to the ring and wrestled for several years. During that time, and before he was doing tattoos as well, he referred to his position as a tattooist as a “Jagger in a skin joint.” Tiny was not only responsible for getting Al Newcombe’s wife into showbiz, but also, in 1971, he helped Beachcomber Bill get his start in tattooing.

Beachcomber Bill acquired his equipment from Tiny. At the time, Tiny was short on cash and was going to sell his tattoo equipment. Bill offered to buy the equipment if he would teach him how to use it. As promised, Tiny sold Bill the equipment, taught him how to mix inks and solder needles, and introduced him to the basics of tattooing. Bill would watch Tiny do tattoos, and then one day, while Tiny was tattooing a little red devil (a hot stuff tattoo), halfway through the tattoo, he got up and told Bill to take over. This was Bill’s first tattoo.

Ned Burwell is a Canadian master tattooist, and dedicated historian, who began his career in 1993 under the mentorship of veteran tattooist Mack Bregg. Ned’s tattoo style is most recognized for his large-scale, black-and-grey tattoos featuring wildlife and spiritual imagery. Since 2008, he has been meticulously documenting the origins of Canadian body art, and is currently compiling his research and interviews into a comprehensive 3-book series that will trace Canadian tattoo culture back to 1899.

He has recently finished writing The Canadian Electric Tattooing Scene - Volume One, which will be published in the fall of 2026, and to celebrate the launch, and give you a taste of what’s to come, Ned is writing a series of articles called "Historically Speaking", and each month you can expect to see one featured in our Insider Email, and here in the Buzzz. If you want to be sure to get yourself a copy of Ned’s first book, you can order it here.