Original tattoo designs from Polynesian cultures at Easter Island, Hawaii, the Marquesas, New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti and Tonga are presented in over 250 historic drawings and color illustrations. Accounts of native ceremonies by the earliest mariners who first reported this practice to the West are provided. The design elements are interpreted in relation to their historic context, and may serve as dramatic inspiration for today's popular tattoo styles.

Mark Blackburn has been under the spell of the Polynesian Islands for twenty years, building one of the finest Polynesian art collections and libraries. He runs a successful import business in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and has a second home and art gallery in Hilo, Hawaii.