Photograph of Lee Harvey Oswald with insets of Marxist pamphlets
Object number2004.037.0031
Date1963 - 1964
ClassificationsPhotographs
ObjectPhotograph (b&w)
Credit LineLyndal L. Shaneyfelt Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumPaper
Dimensions8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm)
Collections
DescriptionBlack and white photograph with three images, the center showing Lee Harvey Oswald holding Socialist and Communist newspapers and the two outside images showing the mastheads of those papers. The image in the center (labeled A) is a cropped version of the famous "backyard photo" of Oswald holding a rifle and some newspapers. The image on the left (labeled B) is a picture of a copy of "The Worker" newspaper, showing its publication date, and the image on the right (labeled C) is of a copy of "The Militant". During their investigation of the Oswald photo, FBI agents researched and identified the newspapers, finding actual copies of the papers to photograph and match to the backyard photo.
This copy of a photograph was part of FBI Special Agent Lyndal Shaneyfelt's Kennedy assassination file; Shaneyfelt assisted in the FBI investigations of the assassination conducted on behalf of the Warren Commission in 1964.
Curatorial CommentaryIn its 1963-1964 investigation, the FBI sought to determine exactly when the backyard photos were taken. Recollections by Marina Oswald suggested they were made on Sunday, March 31, 1963. To confirm that information the FBI studied blow-ups of the photos, then acquired copies of the two newspapers Oswald held to learn their publication dates. The FBI then found when those newspapers would have been mailed from their publishers and their likely delivery dates in the Dallas, Texas, area. The results confirmed that Oswald would have received both publications prior to March 31st. - Gary Mack, Curator
