Embossed leather pistol holster originally owned by Jack Ruby

Object numberL2017.1.14

Datecirca 1955

ClassificationsArtifacts

ObjectHolster

Credit LineLoaned Courtesy the Dallas County District Attorney's Office/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumLeather; Metal; Fibers, Man-made

Dimensions5 5/8 × 3 1/4 × 2 in. (14.3 × 8.3 × 5.1 cm)

Terms

Collections

DescriptionEmbossed leather pistol holster originally owned by Jack Ruby. The holster is made of reddish brown leather embossed with a floral design. The front has a metal snap closure where a narrow leather strap fastens. One long and short side of the holster are stitched together using wide whip stitch. Inside the holster is lined with white leather. No makers marks visible anywhere on the holster. Handwritten in blue ink pen on saddle stitched area of white leather on reverse is the date "11/24/63" and illegible initials beneath the date. Two other names are written on the wider part of the white leather belt strap area of the holster. It was customary for the Dallas Police Department to notate on physical evidence the date it was seized and the initials of the DPD officer who took possession of it; this documented the chain of custody. This object was originally part of the evidence collected by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office and specifically prosecutors Henry Wade and Bill Alexander during the investigation leading up to the Jack Ruby trial for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald.

Curatorial Commentary

This item, along with materials from the DA's Ruby file (which is on loan to the Museum) and from the Museum's permanent collection, briefly appeared in a temporary display on the Museum's seventh floor in 2017. - Lindsey Richardson, Curator of Collections