The Tattoo Museum collection was amassed by British tattooist Lionel Ichner who displayed his early acquisitions in a display case at his tattoo shop from 1975. As the collection expanded through donations and Lionel’s further purchases, it was relocated to a larger space attached to the tattoo studio in Oxford and is managed by the Tattoo Club of Great Britain. In 2002, part of the collection was loaned to the National Maritime Museum for its Skin Deep exhibition.