Image of Governor Connally's blood-spattered hat hanging in Jesse Curry's office

Dallas Police Chief Jesse Curry returned to Dallas police headquarters around 4:00 p.m. on November 22, 1963, after witnessing the swearing-in of Lyndon Johnson aboard Air Force One at Dallas Love Field. No one knows exactly when and how Curry ended up with the blood-stained hat that Texas Governor John Connally held in his lap during the Dallas motorcade, but Curry had it hanging on a rack in his office when Dallas Morning News chief photographer Tom Dillard arrived with his camera sometime after 8:30 p.m. In addition to this photograph, Dillard took a series of images of Chief Curry seated at his desk. - Stephen Fagin, Curator