There are several documented historical signatures in Robber Baron.
In one case, they were stationed at a nearby army base so the records
could be located. You can tell which ones are likely authentic since
the writing is usually much neater than later graffiti!
Example in Robber Baron from 1918:
http://www.tcmacaves.org/robberbaron/images/RB_1918_s.jpg
Joe Mitchell
On Sep 24, 2008, at 4:40 PM, John Greer wrote:
So-called graffiti changes through time relative to a whole host of
cultural values and customs. As several of us (probably including
Ron) have recorded, it can be used to show a whole host of social
(and personal) relationships and attitudes that relate to what was
going on at the time, worldwide or strictly local. Kinds,
applications, and especially subjects of graffiti are not at all
static and change constantly. It's not just the historic content
(recording of an old event or person) that may be important -- or
even just historically interesting to later visitors, perhaps
(hopefully) another hundred years into the future.
In reply to some of the comments: On the matter of identifying
authenticity, and even which century an inscription belongs, it is
often necessary to use one's brain -- that is, it may be necessary
to think. One can use character of the inscription, manner of
application, style of letters, subject, condition, and a whole host
of other things. On dates, however, an inscribed date can (and
does) refer to any number of things -- time of visit, birth date,
graduation date, date of first sex (usually with a particular
person), date of some special event (such as sports championship).
And some inscriptions (particularly by Boy Scouts and persons with
limited gray matter) are clearly fakes, jokes, or are meant
intentionally to deceive.
There are hundreds of examples of destruction of important historic
information by federal and state agencies (and not just in the US
-- remember the French Boy Scouts who scrubbed all the 15,000 year
old paintings off the ceiling), but suffice it to say that if so-
called graffiti is to be removed, it should be fully, carefully,
and intensively recorded (including precise location, position,
aspect, and association) -- and those records should be placed into
permanent archeological (or caving) curation facilities. That
certainly will not be viewed in the future as the best preservation
policy, but since systematic destruction of historic values is now
a way of life in the US (and growing worldwide), it's about the
best we can do.
John Greer
----- Original Message -----
From: Nancy Weaver
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 3:07 PM
Subject: [Texascavers] Historic Signatures
>
>
>The date on the signatures of September 26, 1891 qualifies these
>signatures as "historic" rather than graffiti. Note the quaint
>spelling of the word "guide."
>
well you are lucky there werent any graffiti zealots around at the
time to clean up these signatures so that you get to enjoy them now.
Nancy
