This type of graffiti has a long, strange, and thoroughly American lineage. The first markings to appear on boxcars were made with chalk and pencil by railroad workers, noting arrival and departure times, weights, and other information about the car’s contents for the benefit of their colleagues in distant cities that would be unloading them.
As Woody Guthrie-style rail riding became a popular, illicit way for people to travel cheaply across long distances in the early part ...of the 20th century, a whole taxonomy of hobo markings began to appear on the sides of these boxcars – like the railroad workers’ markings, these were cryptic notations meant for a specific, in-the-know audience
As Woody Guthrie-style rail riding became a popular, illicit way for people to travel cheaply across long distances in the early part ...of the 20th century, a whole taxonomy of hobo markings began to appear on the sides of these boxcars – like the railroad workers’ markings, these were cryptic notations meant for a specific, in-the-know audience
. (In 2010, the Walker Art Center screened Bill Daniels’ film “Who is Bozo Texino?” — one of the best examinations of this phenomenon and required viewing for anyone interested in this
