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September 1941. "Freight trains in yards. Laramie, Wyoming." Medium format acetate negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
Spray paint wasn't invented until 1949 which was probably very frustrating to the would-be graffiti artists of 1941. However, according to Wikipedia,
"The oldest known example of modern graffiti are the 'monikers' found on traincars created by hobos and railworkers since the late 1800s."
So I'm sure it started to appear not long afterward.
The rail yard is still there, but many of the tracks are gone:
we will investigate "perspective.''
I notice not one spot of graffiti on any of those freight cars.
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