250 pages Edited by Tarek Ben Yakhlef and Sylvain Doriath 21,1 x 24,3 cm Language: French Paperback Publisher: Paris Tonkar Second edition 1992
First published in 1991, Paris Tonkar is widely considered the first French book devoted to graffiti—and quickly became its bible. When it appeared, the impact was immediate. For many writers, photographers and observers of the scene, it helped define an entire generation.
This second edition (1992) captures the raw energy of the late-1980s Paris graffiti movement, when tags spread across the city—from the wastelands of La Chapelle to the tunnels of the Paris metro. Few Haussmann façades escaped the markers. Inside: the pioneers who shaped the scene—Bando, Boxer, Psyckoz, Nasty, Spirit, Azyle, Mode 2, Seyo, Deuce, Slice, Orel, and others.
Part document, part time capsule, the book traces a key moment in urban art—illegal, creative, chaotic—culminating with the famous Louvre station affair of May 1991.
Rare today, Paris Tonkar remains a landmark: the book that first told the story of French graffiti from the inside.
