/internal/media/dispatcher/35309/fullColor photographic print of sixth floor location where rifle was found11/23/19633 1/4 × 4 3/4 in. (8.3 × 12.1 cm)PaperSpaulding Jones Family Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza2012.065.00040One color photographic print on Kodak paper taken of the inside of the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository building on the afternoon of November 23, 1963. This image shows stacks of book boxes, with a brick wall and a window behind them in the background. A white border surrounds the entire image. Handwriting in blue ink and pencil is on the back of this photo. The watermark brand reads, "A KODAK PAPER." The number "5" is crossed out in the top right corner.
The handwriting on the back of the photograph reads:
"4 - 11-23-63 Afternoon 6th floor window"
Spaulding Jones had an office inside the Texas School Book Depository building in 1963 and believed he was on the elevator with Lee Harvey Oswald the morning of the assassination. Mr. Jones took these photos the week after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. For more information see Spaulding Jones' oral history, taken April 6, 1995 (1996.055.0007).Photographs6487812.06502413008.255016510039841Photograph (color)0E-10Color photographic print on Kodak paper taken by amateur photographer Spaulding Jones of the inside of the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository building on the afternoon of November 23, 1963. This image shows the sixth floor location where the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle was found, surrounded by stacks of book boxes. A brick wall and part of a window are visible in the background.PhotographsWindowsBoxesJones, SpauldingTexas School Book DepositoryScott Foresman and CompanyDallasSpaulding Jones took these photos the day after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. For more information see Spaulding Jones' oral history recorded on April 6, 1996 (1996.055.0007). - Stephanie Allen-Givens, Collections and Exhibits ManagerAs the regional manager for Macmillan and Company publishers, Spaulding Jones had an office on the fourth floor of the Texas School Book Depository building in 1963. According to an oral history recorded in 1996, Mr. Jones believed that he encountered Lee Harvey Oswald on the morning of the assassination. Jones, who was with his two daughters at the Depository that day, recalled, "About the time I walked in and we were walking over to the elevator, another person walked in and took the elevator up with us. And he was just a person who worked in that Depository, and he did not go to the same floor that I did. He went to the third floor; I believe it was the third floor, but I'm not sure. I know that he went up with us on the elevator. And I just recognized him as one of the workers. Later on, I found out that that was Lee Harvey Oswald."
Jones had intended to bring his 35mm camera with him to the office that day, but he accidentally left it at home. According to his oral history, he took his camera to the Depository the next morning, on Saturday, November 23, and went to the sixth floor to photograph the crime scenes. He recalled being challenged by law enforcement and was told that he was not allowed on the sixth floor. He recalled, "And I said, 'This is my building, and I can go anywhere that I want.' And they let me go." Based on the different handwritten dates on the backs of his photo prints and the presence and then absence of flowers in Dealey Plaza, Jones apparently ventured to the sixth floor with his camera on multiple occasions. His are the only known color photographs taken of the sniper's perch and rifle location during the weekend of the assassination.
Mr. Jones passed away on July 2, 1997, at the age of 73. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator