Public Wall Writing

Public Wall Writing In Philadelphia is a book of photographs chronicling the history of wall writing in Philadelphia from the late 1960's through the early 1980's. Images of SEPTA stations and platforms, gang corners and roll calls, anti-graffiti propaganda and buff-men, run-down neighborhoods and the citizens that inhabited them, serve to paint a bleak yet timeless portrait of Philadelphia.

Smyrski Creative utilized the Temple University Urban Archives to source all photography for the books. We carefully researched and selected the best images to tell the story of wall writing in Philadelphia. The book was an instant hit not only among the street art community, but also amongst historians, fashionistas, and students of urban planning. A second edition was published in Europe by German publishing house From Here to Fame.