Subway Art is a collaborative book by Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, which documents the early history of the New York City graffiti movement.
[2] The book was known as 'the bible' of graffiti, because the photographs of this ephemeral art were accompanied by text describing techniques of the drawing styles and how it was done on public property without permission.
The authors of this book often printed their images quickly to share with the graffiti artists, who did not have cameras in that decade to record the mark they left on their city, on a subway car.
[2] These photographs were taken in an era of decline of the condition of the subway system in New York City, before David L. Gunn was brought in to lead a turnaround in 1984, including daily cleaning of rail cars.
[4][5] Subway Art quickly acquired the dubious accolade of becoming one of the most stolen books in the United Kingdom, and marked the start of graffiti on London rail cars.