DescriptionPostcard of a wax museum tableau showing Lee Harvey Oswald being shot by Jack Ruby with detective Jim Leavelle standing by. The wax figure of Oswald is small, his mouth open in pain and left hand clutching his chest. The figure representing Jack Ruby lunges forward with a pistol. The Jim Leavelle figure stands next to Oswald with his hands slightly raised. The three figures stand in a corner with walls of white painted brick.
The back of the postcard reads:
"Lee Oswald, the man who assassinated Pres. John F. Kennedy is shown here being assassinated himself by Jack Ruby. This is just one of the many scenes in the Chamber of Horrors, which is famous at Josephine Tussaud's London Wax Museum, 5505 Gulf Blvd., St. Petersburg Beach, Florida."
"Photo by Ted Lagerberg"
"Florida Natural Color, Inc., 2652 N.E. 189th St., Miami, Fla 33163"
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Curatorial Commentary
Following the Kennedy assassination, wax museums -- plentiful and popular roadside attractions in the 1960s -- rushed to add displays that reflected the most memorable moments from the chaotic weekend of November 22, 1963. While some museums crafted memorial displays honoring the late president, others took a more sensational route. Interestingly, this vignette from St. Petersburg, Florida, was part of the museum's "Chamber of Horrors" section rather than its "Historical Figures" gallery. It was one of several wax museums in the United States to feature the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby. As of 2012, none of these displays are known to still exist.
Ironically, even though the Southwestern Historical Wax Museum in Dallas (later Grand Prairie, Texas), featured three tableaus on the Kennedy assassination and owned an original suit worn by Jack Ruby, it did not include any depiction of the Oswald shooting. All three of the Dallas museum's Kennedy displays were destroyed by fire in 1988. - Stephen Fagin, Associate Curator
