History of Davis Tattoo Supplies (DTS)

We have been trading as a company for more than 20 years but the Davis name of brother George and Charles, has been associated with the profession for since 1890.

George Burchett-Davis, the better-known, was a rebel, a legend and the most famous tattooist of his time.

Born in1872, in Brighton, he was a bright, intelligent boy but was expelled from school at the age twelve for tattooing his classmates.

A year later he joined the Royal Navy against his parents’ wishes, getting his grandmother to sign the papers and sailed as a deck-hand around the world, from the West Indies, the Mediterranean, Africa, the Indian sub-continent and to the Far East. On board he began to tattoo constantly, his skill developing as other sailors paid him to tattoo them. He also experienced first-hand, the famous tattoos of Asia, with the master artists of Japan and Java particularly impressing him.

However, the disciplined life of the Navy did not suit rebel George and he jumped ship in Jaffa (Israel) and dropped his surname Davis so the Admiralty couldn’t find him.

He returned to London and became the country’s leading tattooist. In the course of a long and full life he assembled an extensive collection of documents, pictures, and books on the history of tattooing. Among his clients were actresses, doctors, judges, a bishop, and assorted royalty, including Britain’s King George V and the late King Frederick of Denmark. Burchett’s wife, Edith. was tattooed all over.

When George opened his first shop in east London in 1900 he was joined by his younger brother Charles Burchett-Davis (pictured right) who learned the art from him. He then passed his skills onto his son Charles Davis who established a Tattoo Supplies Company on a very small scale. Charles retired in 1983 and passed the business on to his son Eric Davis who expanded the business which he ran for 20 years.

The years since 1983 have see a far more sophisticated approach to the Tattoo Supplies business, which involves anticipating the future needs of tattooing practitioners by listening to exactly what they require and remaining informed of current and pending Standards and Regulations set down by UK and European Regulating Bodies.

DTS has always strived to provide a customer-orientated marketing policy and our quality service has been justly recognised over the years, having been given a number of prestigious awards within the industry.

By continuing to meet and surpass our customer’s expectations we look forward to many more years of offering a reliable, friendly service and retaining our customers’ loyal support.