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Covert Sign Codes (Hobos, Tramps, Gypsies, Criminals, etc.)

Surely an adaptation from the Hobo signs in the US?

It's vaguely familiar, but I couldn't swear I've heard of it before.

This Google search has lots to choose from re. Hobo signs.
 
I think you're right - At least one of the signs is repeated in both the Burglars Guide and the Hobo Signs.

The Hobo Sign that denotes "Afraid" (It appears as two interlocking rectangles) is exactly the same as the symbol that a burglar would allegedly use to show that the "people living here are easily scared".
 
I think this is another thread on it?

(edited by TheQuixote: removed link as threads are now merged)

In my experience Daily Express don't check their facts that thoroughly (to say the least) :D
 
That's the fella - yeah, I knew I'd read something similar before..
 
I live near the Walsall area - will ask my friends to see they actually have any of the leaflets or any more info!
 
Warning on burglar codes
By Deborah Stewart
Mar 16, 2006

Criminals are using their own codes to target the homes of vulnerable Walsall families, it was claimed.

Fears were raised after care workers reported seeing chalk markings on pavements outside properties in the town.

Now community workers have launched a campaign to warn householders of the dangers of letting cold callers into their homes. Walsall police have not linked the marks to any specific burglaries, but have emphasised people should take basic security precautions.

Former Walsall councillor Malcolm Barton said he had been told that a number of carers had rubbed out the distinctive signs after spotting them outside the homes of people they were looking after.

Now he is distributing a leaflet showing drawings of the eight signs to community organisations in parts of the borough in a move to raise awareness.

Walsall police community partnership officer Kevin Pitt said: "I would not rule out a link between the markings and any recent burglaries. If people are worried they should photograph or sketch the marks and we will look into it."

But he suggested that many of the marks were made by utility companies.

And urged residents tofollow basic crime prevention advice and not be tricked into allowing callers into their homes without proof of identity.

Mr Barton, a former mayor, said: "People working on the ground believe vulnerable residents are being targeted by criminals because fences and pavements have been seen with chalk marks.

"My understanding is that in some instances care workers have been rubbing them out when they see them rather than worry their clients about the marks.

"I work with a number of community groups and I have raised the matter where I can, but obviously it is something which needs to be addressed if it is being used by elements of the criminal fraternity.

"I want relatives and carers of vulnerable residents to be aware this is happening and to have an idea of what they look like if they come across them."

express & star

The local housing group is involved in major building and renovation work on the majority of its properties, they're also in the process of fencing all open enclosures, verges etc. so I have seen a variety of markings on the pavements, all apparently meant to denote which utility company has cables underneath the tarmac. Reason I know this, I had my BT line cut off before Xmas by some fool workman putting up metal fencing.

I've also seen a lot of trident-shaped symbols, which I keep meaning to take a pic of as I recall there was thread about similar shaped symbols in Gen Fort.

Anyway, I'll ask around at the Olds complex my mother lives in, one of the carers or the warden may have seen it.
 
drbastard said:
I think this is another thread on it?

There is another thread HERE about 'Hobo signs' and the like. But it became a heated discussion about racism!
 
drjbrennan said:
I can clearly remember in the sixties, reading a book on scouting, which explained "Tramp marksmarks"....

I can remember this book as well, also an earlier book, "Every Boys Companion", (I think), giving the same marks.....

But, I wonder now, were they repeating the same myths, or was there some real fact in the stories?
 
A little bit of a side step here but around 6 years ago my girlfriend was living in London. Her flat was one of only two in the same block with a security door at the bottom.

One day returning home she found a note on her door saying Be Careful and a christian cross drawn underneath it. She took the note down but the very next day awoke and noticed as she was leaving, someone had placed a candle on her doormat which was burning and another note with another cross.

Guaranteed not be thieves but unusual in the least. (The landlord later changed the lock on the security door in case it was a nutter and not a practical joker).
 
How contemporary folklore becomes enshrined as historical fact. I just love this kind of thing...

In Douglass Tribute, Slave Folklore and Fact Collide

By NOAM COHEN
Published: January 23, 2007

At the northwest corner of Central Park, construction is under way on Frederick Douglass Circle, a $15.5 million project honoring the escaped slave who became a world-renowned orator and abolitionist.

Beneath an eight-foot-tall sculpture of Douglass, the plans call for a huge quilt in granite, an array of squares, a symbol in each, supposedly part of a secret code sewn into family quilts and used along the Underground Railroad to aid slaves. Two plaques would explain this.

The only problem: According to many prominent historians, the secret code — the subject of a popular book that has been featured on no less a cultural touchstone than “The Oprah Winfrey Show” — never existed. And now the city is reconsidering the inclusion of the plaques, so as not to “publicize spurious history,” Kate D. Levin, the city’s commissioner of cultural affairs, said yesterday.

The plaques may go, but they have spawned an energetic debate about folklore versus fact, and who decides what becomes the lasting historical record.

The memorial’s link between Douglass, who escaped slavery from Baltimore at age 20, and the coded designs has puzzled historians. But what particularly raised the historians’ ire were the two plaques, one naming the code’s symbols and the other explaining that they were used “to indicate the location of safe houses, escape routes and to convey other information vital to a slave’s escape and survival.”

It’s “a myth, bordering on a hoax,” said David Blight, a Yale University historian who has written a book about Douglass and edited his autobiography. “To permanently associate Douglass’s life with this story instead of great, real stories is unfortunate at best.”

The quilt theory was first published in the 1999 book “Hidden in Plain View,” by Jacqueline Tobin, a journalist and college English instructor from Denver, and Raymond Dobard, a quilting and African textiles expert. It was based on the recollections of Ozella McDaniel Williams, a teacher in Los Angeles who became a quiltmaker in Charleston, S.C. “Ozella’s code,” the book says, was handed down from slave times from mother to daughter. Ms. Williams died in 1998.

According to “Hidden in Plain View,” slaves created quilts with codes to advise those fleeing captivity. What looked to the slave master like an abstract panel on a quilt being “aired out” on a porch in fact represented a reminder, say, to be sure to follow a zigzag path to avoid being tracked when escaping. In Ms. Williams’s account, there was a sequence of 10 panels to guide an escaping slave, beginning with a “monkey wrench” pattern meaning to gather up tools and supplies and concluding with a star, a reminder to head north.

The authors say that people have tried to make too much of the book, which they intended to be one family’s story. “I would say there has been a great deal of misunderstanding about the code,” Dr. Dobard said. “In the book Jackie and I set out to say it was a set of directives. It was a beginning, not an end-all, to stir people to think and share those stories.”

Even before the book was published, the codes in “Hidden in Plain View” got a boost from “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” which had Dr. Dobard, a quilter himself, as a guest in November 1998. The show was rebroadcast on Martin Luther King’s Birthday in 1999, the day before the book was published, according to Janet Hill, who edited it and is now a vice president of Doubleday. That same day, Ms. Hill wrote in an e-mail message, the book was featured in USA Today. “The book seemed to take off from there,” she wrote.

There are currently 207,000 copies in print, she said. The codes are frequently taught in elementary schools (teachers have been eager to take up the quilting-codes theory because of its useful pedagogic elements — a secret code, artwork and a story of triumph), and the patterns represent a small industry within quiltmaking.

Algernon Miller, who designed the memorial site, said he “was inspired by this story line,” which he discovered in the library. His was a re-interpretation, he said, noting that he was “taking a soft material, a quilt, and converting it into granite.”

“Traditionally what African-Americans do is take something and reinterpret into another form,” he said.

The team of Mr. Miller and a sculptor, Gabriel Koren, were selected in January 2003, from six proposals in a competition organized by the Studio Museum in Harlem. While the project, which involves rebuilding roadways, will cost more than $15 million in city, state and federal money, the 15,000-square-foot plaza and sculpture were commissioned for $750,000. It’s unclear how much it would cost to redesign it now. The memorial, at 110th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, is expected to be completed in fall 2008.

Professor Blight raised his concerns shortly after reading an editorial column in The New York Times in November praising the project and treating the quilting codes as fact. He posted a message at an online discussion group for historians of slavery. “Unfortunately, this UGRR quilt code mythology has also managed to make its way onto the very permanent and very important Frederick Douglass Memorial,” he wrote, using initials to refer to the Underground Railroad. “Douglass never saw a quilt used to free any slaves in his day. Why do we need to pin this nonsense on him now?”

Dozens of postings later, one commentator this month posted a note cautioning that the discussion was threatening to “degenerate into an episode of ‘Historians Gone Wild.’ ”

“We are watching in real time an unfolding of belief in a story,” said Marsha MacDowell, a quilting expert and an art professor at Michigan State University. “It will take years to undo. It’s like Washington chopping down the cherry tree. It has finally been written out of the history books.”

Giles R. Wright, director of the Afro-American History Program at the New Jersey Historical Commission, rattled off the historians’ problems in a telephone interview: There is no surviving example of an encoded quilt from the period. The code was never mentioned in any of the interviews of ex-slaves carried out in the 1930’s by the Works Progress Administration. There is no mention of quilting codes in any diaries or memoirs from the period.

Mr. Miller responded to critics: “No matter what anyone has to say, they weren’t there in that particular moment, especially something that was in secret.”

John Reddick, who works for the Central Park Conservancy and helped shepherd the project through its financing and community board approval, noted that in less than a decade “Hidden in Plain View” had become “a touchstone to creative people” and compared the quilt code to the coded language in Negro spirituals. “Take ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,’ ” he said, “the slave master thinks you are talking about dying, and the slaves are talking about getting away.” He also noted the paradox of historians demanding written evidence when slaves were barred from learning to read and write.

On Ms. Winfrey’s show, Dr. Dobard appeared with the black descendants of Thomas Jefferson. That relationship was preserved in oral history across the centuries, even as historians of the past generally dismissed the claim. DNA tests published in 1998 are considered to have confirmed Jefferson’s paternity.

A spokeswoman for Harpo Productions, which produces the show, had no comment on the controversy.

A historian, Christopher Moore, who is research coordinator at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, was consulted on the printed material in the memorial, which includes many quotations from Douglass.

In an interview, Mr. Moore said that as an unpaid consultant reviewing the project, he focused on the Douglass material, and gave cursory attention to the quilts.

When told of the historians’ objections, Mr. Moore said “it was a mistake” to include the text explaining the codes. He said he has since been asked to write a historically accurate text for the memorial.

Ms. Levin said she thought the memorial’s larger quilting theme was appropriate. “Something can inspire an artist that is not be based in fact,” she said. “This isn’t a work of history, it’s a work of art.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/23/nyreg ... 1&ref=arts
 
The Rom also had their 'code' that they left after contacting the Big Houses, known as Patrin.
 
ANTHROPOLOGIST FOLLOWS TRAIL OF CENTURY-OLD HOBO GRAFFITI

Anthropologist Susan Phillips had spent a career examining the graffiti that covers urban walls, bridges and freeway overpasses.

But when she came across an unrecognizable collection made not of spray paint but substances like grease pencil and apparently left there for a century, she was stunned.

Phillips had uncovered a peculiar, almost extinct form of American hieroglyphics known as hobo graffiti, the treasure trove discovered under a nondescript, 103-year-old bridge spanning the Los Angeles River. ...

SOURCE: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HOBO_GRAFFITI_CAOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
 
I think with hobo symbols, there is more of a direct history for the symbols. They also seem pretty utilitarian.
From THIS SITE
...

The link is long dead. Here are the single image (enlarged) and the text of the MIA webpage.

HoboSigns-EPCC.jpg

Hobo Sign Language Targeted El Paso

By David Uhl

Graffiti covers scores of walls, businesses and residences in El Paso today, a result of gangs communicating with each other while leaving the general public in the dark. This isn't the first time that distinct groups have used code to converse with each other.

During the Depression thousands of unemployed men turned hobo overnight flocked to Texas because they heard from others traveling the country that there was a town out West called El Paso known for its generosity to beggars. This news reached the vagabonds through a simple system of symbols which could be found on street curbs and buildings nationwide.

A February 8, 1932 El Paso Times article carried the following code used by the hobos of the 1930s to spread world of El Paso's generosity:

1. Two hobos, traveling together, have gone the direction of the arrows.
2. Hobos not welcome. Will be put to work on rock pile, sawing wood, or hard labor.
3. This sign depicts the bars of a jail.
4. Means "OUT" or "GET OUT." Poor pickings.
5. The town itself is no good, but the churches and missions are kindly disposed.
6. This is a good place for hobos to meet other hobos.
7. All the ministers, mission heads, and Christian leaders are disposed to welcome transients.
8. The pendulum indicates that the people here swing back and forth in their attitude toward hobos, sometimes friendly and other times unkind.
9. Represents two rails and a cross tie. Means "Railway Terminal" or "Division Point," a good place to board trains in different directions.
10. This sign represents teeth; it means the police or people are hostile to tramps.
11. This means "the jail is alive with cooties."
12. Keep on moving: the police, the churches, and the people are no good.
13. This is a swell place to stop: these people are bighearted.
14. Food may be had for the asking.
15. The sign for "OK." People are very good, kindly disposed.
16. Best results are secured if two hobos travel together, not so good for a lone hobo.

As a result of its generosity, El Paso came to be known as an "easy mark" for beggars. These men could make from $2 to $5 a day or more panhandling when working men took home much less: Olive D. McGuire, secretary of the El Paso Community Chest, warned townspeople to inspect their curbs and be thrilled of hobos had placed an emblem of lattice work there- a symbol meaning "hobos not welcome." McGuire distributed sheets containing the hobo language and asked residents to send panhandlers to organized agencies for help.

The generosity of El Pasoans has continued through the years even though the city is not affluent. Some restaurants in town give their left-over food to shelters or charity organizations, or they simply give it to the homeless who ask, rather than throwing it away.

Although the hobo sign language no longer exists, many homeless still know that El Paso is a generous city, recently having been named one of the top 50 U.S. cities for charitable giving.

SALVAGED FROM: https://web.archive.org/web/2002101...monicaw/borderlands/12_hobo_sign_language.htm
 
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I think with hobo symbols, there is more of a direct history for the symbols. They also seem pretty utilitarian....

A List of SIGNS AND SYMBOLS
...

The link and the site::

www.slackaction.com/signroll.htm

... are both dead, and there's no archived version to be found.

A graphic summary of hobo signs / symbols attributed to this MIA site has been recycled by other sites. Here's that graphic, which is apparently all that survives.

hobo-signs.jpg

 
There was occasional discussion of this issue during my police career (1974-2004). It was even promulgated in official paperwork as a real thing to look out for. l can only say that l never saw it, nor did any officer to whom l spoke about it.

l find it very hard to believe that a complex system of symbols could be devised, memorised and perpetuated by the kind of transients and derelicts that we see arguing with themselves in bus station toilets.

The only time l’ve ever seen “hobo graffiti” used was on that episode of Mad Men.

maximus otter
 
There was occasional discussion of this issue during my police career (1974-2004). It was even promulgated in official paperwork as a real thing to look out for. l can only say that l never saw it, nor did any officer to whom l spoke about it.

l find it very hard to believe that a complex system of symbols could be devised, memorised and perpetuated by the kind of transients and derelicts that we see arguing with themselves in bus station toilets.

The only time l’ve ever seen “hobo graffiti” used was on that episode of Mad Men.

maximus otter
That sums up my thoughts as well. It's a very complicated system of symbols to be learned and used by transients who mostly will be suffering from psychological problems and various addictions.

However, maybe back in the '30's dust bowl, when men were used to moving around for farm work etc, maybe it's not too far fetched an idea that they had a system of symbols to let others know where food, work and shelter was available.
 
Why bother 'circulating pamphlets' of burglar signs? Why not just circulate the sign for 'nothing worth stealing here' for every bugger in the neighbourhood to chalk on their door?

Burglars then won't know whether the sign is genuine or chalked by the inhabitant, and they'll all have to go off and have a 'Burglars' Convention' to decide on new signs and symbols to use... much more profitable use of their time rather than all that breaking and entering.
 
A museum of curios in Ohio just had this mask posted to them fro Florida. It was apparently covered in shit. When cleaned off they found this symbol carved into it. Any ideas of what it is?
46177321_1040294109476429_2980501888023134208_n.png
46188032_496507977513701_8319456217625788416_n.png
 
Looks Japanese. Possibly a Noh (Nō) mask.
 
I tend to think the mask is Indonesian - specifically Balinese, and I'm not sure that's a carved symbol.

SIDE NOTE: Do you have any idea how difficult it is to locate any photos of the 'back side' of a Balinese mask?

It appears to me the snake-like item is located behind the brow / forehead area. It's a continuous linear form that appears 'beaded', not unlike certain decorative facial scars.

The closest analogue I found on the back side of a Balinese mask is stitching or criss-cross threads apparently used as the attachment or attachment grid for securing a non-wooden decoration on the mask's face. Here's a pair of photos I found on Worthpoint illustrating the notion ...

topeng-indonesian-mask-keris-asmat_1_f3e20709d8afbb3b30ecf1e66530a075.jpg
topeng-indonesian-mask-keris-asmat_1_f3e20709d8afbb3b30ecf1e66530a075-1.jpg

SOURCE: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/topeng-indonesian-mask-keris-asmat-21129818

Look at the back side photo in the area of the mask's upper lip. There's a criss-cross pattern of a similar 'beaded' material directly behind the mustache attached to the exterior.

I'm not claiming the mustache is directly stitched through the wood. This might be a grid of thread glued or shellacked in place on the interior and used as an anchor point for threads extending in from the exterior.

Another thing occurred to me. I never found any photo of a mask that had a white-ish interior. I'm wondering if the mystery mask's white-ish interior surface is some sort of liner rather than the mask's wood. If so, the snake-ish item might be a line of thread used to attach the liner to the mask's interior.
 
There was occasional discussion of this issue during my police career (1974-2004). It was even promulgated in official paperwork as a real thing to look out for. l can only say that l never saw it, nor did any officer to whom l spoke about it.

l find it very hard to believe that a complex system of symbols could be devised, memorised and perpetuated by the kind of transients and derelicts that we see arguing with themselves in bus station toilets.

The only time l’ve ever seen “hobo graffiti” used was on that episode of Mad Men.

maximus otter

Curiously someone on my local Facebook group claimed they had intruders earlier in the week that they managed to scare off, then came out to find a chalked arrow on the pavement pointing at their house, conerned enough about it to post and warn other people.

Not entirely convinced as burglars aren't the type to flag up a good mark to someone else, also doesn't sit well with most crimes of this type being opportunistic.

Funny thing I did discover is that the symbols are now commonly knows as Da Pinchi Code. :D
 
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