Last Sunday's New York Times reviewed Independence Seaport's great exhibit "Skin & Bones: Tattoos in the Life of the American Sailor". The review does an excellent job of explaining the history and tattoo, especially in the maritime world. While not mentioned in the article the exhibit does contain a number of items loaned from Mystic Seaport's Collections including the C. H. Fellowes sketchbook.
Slideshow of images from the exhibit.