THE SCOOP 

Derin Bray is an art & antique dealer based in the seaside town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He spends most days traveling the country in search of exceptional American folk art, Manuscripts, and hand-crafted items from the colonial period through the early twentieth century. 

a nationally-recognized authority on Historic tattoo material, he is co-author of Loud, Naked, & in Three Colors: The Liberty Boys & The History of Tattooing in Boston, winner of the prestigious Leadership in History Award; and is co-curator of the accompanying exhibition opening summer 2022.

Derin is also author of the award-winning book Bucket Town: Woodenware & Wooden Toys of Hingham, Massachusetts, 1636-1945 (Hingham Historic Commission), and contributed to the landmark publications To Please Any Taste: The Furniture and Furniture Makers of Litchfield County, 1780-1830 (Litchfield Historical Society) and Harbor & Home: Furniture of Southeastern Massachusetts, 1710-1850 (Winterthur Museum & Gardens). His articles on tattoo history and american folk art have appeared in numerous magazines and scholarly journals.

Derin has been immersed in the field of American art and antiques for twenty years. He previously served as a specialist in American furniture and folk art at Northeast Auctions, and has worked as an author, curator, Lecturer, and research consultant for prominent collectors and institutions Throughout the Country. He earned a degree in history from Yale, where he interned at the Mable Brady Garvan Furniture Study, and is a graduate of the Winterthur Program at the University of Delaware. He is a member of the Ephemera Society of America, Daguerreian Society, and Circus Historical Society. 

Derin is a leading collector and historian of early Tattoo Ephemera and Photography, which has been featured in Numerous publications and exhibitions. He is also co-owner of Rake House, a small press devoted to deeply researched books about the history of tattooing.