BANDO'S
BLACK BOOK
Bando, arguably France's first graffiti writer, emerged as a pivotal figure in the early 1980s, leaving an indelible mark on the European graffiti scene.
Bando's significance lies not only in his pioneering role as a founding member of Crime Time Kings, one of the most prolific graffiti crews at the time, but also in his ability to transcend conventional stylistic boundaries.
His style challenged the established norms of graffiti, igniting a new movement that merged street bombing with artistic expression introducing a fresh perspective that resonated all over the continent.
Each of his sketches was infused with a sense of originality and movement, the letters became alive creating a visual language reaching far beyond what was actually written.
Bando's black book sketches from 1985 to 1989 served as the blueprint for European style, inspiring countless writers hungry for creative rebellion within this new thing called graffiti writing.
Bando's sketches not only influenced the visual aesthetics of European graffiti but also shaped it's conceptual underpinnings, encouraging artists to “get up, go out and paint” and remain true to the founding principles of graffiti.
To this day the 1985 - 1989 original black book sketches remain a testament to his enduring legacy forever etched in the annals of European graffiti history and never before seen as complete works until now.
This black book has been meticulously reproduced as is, there are no prefaces or additional information, this is an exact reproduction with every minute detail reproduced as is, each copy has the exact look and the feel of the original.
Bando will sign, tag, and personalize every single copy of this this exclusive edition, only 500 copies will ever be produced ensuring this will become much more than a simple book but a highly sought-after one-of-a-kind collector's item.
“At the time I did not really think anything of this black book or how significant it was so I gave it to my friend Jaid and everyone forgot about it, until now. Jaid is a record collector and back in the late 80’s he just put the black book in a plastic bag and slid it between a pile of records. A few months ago Jaid called me and told me he had found the book and that it was a major collection of sketches and I really needed to see it.
I tripped out when I saw it again after all this time, not only is this the genesis of all my letter styles it is also the original sketches of all the big CTK walls we did at the time with Mode 2, Shoe, Colt and Angel, all of them! It also is full of crazy letter styles I myself had completely forgoten about, many of these sketches are previously unknown.
I decided to reissue the book exactly as it is, no additional text, no additional info or pics, just the raw book exactly like the original. The Blackbook is 108 pages and is 24X34 cm
Each copy is hand-painted, numbered and uniquely tagged, ensuring they are all one-of-a-kind creations, there will only be 500 and this book will not be reprinted.”
— Bando
