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Image from contact sheet of crowd gathered on Elm Street
Image from contact sheet of crowd gathered on Elm Street

Image from contact sheet of crowd gathered on Elm Street

Object number1989.100.0062.0012
Date11/22/1963
ClassificationsPhotographs
Photographer William Allen
ObjectContact sheet
Credit LineDallas Times Herald Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumFilm
DimensionsOverall: 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm)
Collections
DescriptionOne black and white positive print of a 35mm negative taken by Dallas Times Herald photographer William Allen, taken from a contact sheet. This image shows a crowd gathered on Elm Street as viewed from the grassy knoll on the north side of Dealey Plaza. The Babushka Lady can be seen in the center of the image wearing a knee-length coat and headscarf. A red editor's mark is visible in the top right corner of the image and a black editor's mark is visible along the lower edge, just left of center.
Curatorial Commentary
The Babushka Lady—so named because of the headscarf she wore that day—is one of the most mysterious and controversial eyewitnesses in Dealey Plaza.  Beverly Oliver, a singer at the Colony Club in Dallas in 1963 who knew Jack Ruby and many of his performers, came forward in 1970 as this mystery figure.  Many researchers have challenged her story due to its inconsistencies.  However, to date, no one besides Oliver has identified themselves as the “Babushka Lady.” - Stephen Fagin, Curator