The 388 Tattoos of Captain George and the 389 Tales of How He Got Them

He appeared out of the blue in Vienna, covered from head to toe in Burmese tattoos. Then, as the Golden Age of American circus began, P. T. Barnum made him the most famous tattooed performer of all time. He said he had been a pirate and a patriot, a rebel and a slave. He claimed he had been tortured by an evil Tatar despot, tattooed by a vengeful sailor in Kashgar, or inked by a princess in Turkistan. Captain George Costentenus told so many outrageous and conflicting tales - what is the truth?

AMELIA KLEM OSTERUD is a leading scholar on tattoos and tattooed performers. She is the author of The Tattooed Lady: A History and a contributor to The World Atlas of Tattoo.