“An Aesthetic Study of Graffiti on the Subway System of New York City, 1970-1978″

That auction is a just crazy,i wonder how the seller got this ‘bibble’ that must be incredible,i remember that JACK STEWART in an interview was saying that maybe one day this will go as a book..but its now on ebay..

This auction is for the ORIGINAL, one-of-a-kind, one and only, legendary dissertation by Jack Stewart.

You may be thinking “wait a minute that’s impossible”. You’d be thinking wrong because this is the real deal, the actual dissertation by Jack Stewart, photographer of graffiti from 1970-78.

This ultra rare item is considered to be the HOLY GRAIL of early graffiti documentation. Hundreds of photographs, most of them have never been seen before except by a select few lucky people. Jack Stewart documented graffiti in NYC using 35mm cameras, talking with the early artists, and having the writers visit him at his studio. Many of the most famous graff writers visited his studio and Jack would show off the pics with a slide projector. Stewart worked on his dissertation for years, painstakingly pasting the actual photos into the pages of the book. He finally defended his dissertation in 1988 (NYU).
For those who don’t know about this work, it is considered the best ever documentation of early NYC graff, stuff that was BEFORE Chalfant’s Subway Art. In the beginning there was the first generation of NYC graff writers and Jack Stewart was there photographing their work.
A rough count of the photos is approximately 400 different photos of trains with classic graff. That’s counting only once when you have a connector set for an end-2-end piece. Stewart frequently assembled several photos into a single image, the way Henry Chalfant does. If I count the connector images as seperate photos, then the number of photos goes up to about 600. Keep in mind that Jack Stewart photos have always been rare and highly sought after, a single photo could go for $20 in a trade.
The dissertation itself languished for years and I was fortunate enough to become the proud owner of it. The dissertation came my way through legitimate means. This 2-volume massive book has NEVER been set up for sale, and since this is the ONLY copy it will only be sold again if the buyer of this auction decides to ever let it go.
The photos of the sale show the condition of the book. The labels on the front were fixed with regular adhesive tape 20 years ago, and they show it. The binding is hard dissertation cover stock with a giant metal clip inside to hold the pages. Each page was typed by Stewart on heavy stock paper, and the photographs were literally glued onto the pages. The glue HAS NOT damaged the photos in any way, all the photos are in excellent condition. There are 2 volumes (both in this sale) each of which weighs about 3 pounds. The first volume is signed and dated by Jack Stewart 10/20/88.
This dissertation alone will make any graffiti collection one of the best.
Photos in the dissertation span the range of the earliest graff to 1978.
Writers whose work appears:
SuperKool223, Flint, Flint707, Barbara62, Eva62, Mico, PHASE2 (!!), Stitch1, FDT56, Eddie181, Taki183, Spin, Clyde, Stayhigh149, Piper, Jester, Tambu, Jace2, Wasp1, Hondo, Tracy168, Lee, Blade, Comet, Vinny, Roger, IN, AJ161, Pooni, RIFF, Ajax, Vamm, Ton5, Moses147, IZ, Caz…the list goes on and on.
***These are actual COLOR photos!***
Burners! Throwups! Tags! Signature pieces! Insides! Whole cars!
Photo of STAYHIGH benching! (and wearing a pimp hat no less)

Photo of PHASE2 and SKEME piecing in the yard!
Photo series of WASP1 climbing to elevated layup and doing a piece!

Photo of RIFF sitting next on third rail next to his piece!
Incredible unmatched piece of graffiti history!

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