Photograph of courtroom sketch of Joe Tonahill with subpoena at Ruby trial

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Photograph of courtroom sketch of Joe Tonahill with subpoena at Ruby trial

Photograph of courtroom pencil sketch on paper by CBS News courtroom artist Howard Brodie. The sketch shows defense attorney Joe Tonahill with a subpoena during the Jack Ruby trial in February or March of 1964. The sketch shows Tonahill standing with a piece of paper held in his left hand. He is walking towards the judge's bench. Handwritten notes along the bottom edge of the image read "left hand he says," "subpoena," and "Tonahill with subpoena." The artist's signature "Howard Brodie 64'" is located in the lower right under the sketch. Brodie made the original pencil sketches for CBS News during the trial of Jack Ruby after the judge barred cameras from the courtroom. Brodie then gave Joe Tonahill this photograph of a courtroom sketch as part of a collection of more than 40 in 1964.

Object Details
Object title:

Photograph of courtroom sketch of Joe Tonahill with subpoena at Ruby trial

Date:

February 1964 - March 1964

Medium:

Paper, Adhesive tape

Dimensions:

16 × 19 7/8 in. (40.6 × 50.5 cm)

Credit line:

Tonahill Family Partners Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Object number:

2014.034.0037

Curatorial Note:

Howard Brodie (1915-2010) was a sports artist for the San Francisco Chronicle when he enlisted in the U.S. Army with America's entry into World War II. He ultimately became one of the best-known sketch artists of the war, frequently published in the weekly U.S. military magazine, Yank, which ran from June 1942 to December 1945. After the war, Brodie spent the next thirty-five years as a courtroom artist, attending several notable trials including the Chicago Seven, Charles Manson and, of course, the Jack Ruby trial in 1964. For the Ruby trial, Brodie worked as a CBS-TV artist correspondent. Mr. Brodie recorded an oral history with the Museum in 2006. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator

Colorful Jasper, Texas, attorney Joe Halbert Tonahill, Sr. (1913-2001) was co-founder of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. Although well known in Jasper, Tonahill was lifted to national prominence by his longtime friend Melvin Belli when Belli hired the six-foot-four native Texan as his defense co-counsel. Tonahill recorded an oral history with The Sixth Floor Museum on August 9, 1996. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator

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Photograph of courtroom sketch of Joe Tonahill with subpoena at Ruby trial

Photograph of courtroom pencil sketch on paper by CBS News courtroom artist Howard Brodie. The sketch shows defense attorney Joe Tonahill with a subpoena during the Jack Ruby trial in February or March of 1964. The sketch shows Tonahill standing with a piece of paper held in his left hand. He is walking towards the judge's bench. Handwritten notes along the bottom edge of the image read "left hand he says," "subpoena," and "Tonahill with subpoena." The artist's signature "Howard Brodie 64'" is located in the lower right under the sketch. Brodie made the original pencil sketches for CBS News during the trial of Jack Ruby after the judge barred cameras from the courtroom. Brodie then gave Joe Tonahill this photograph of a courtroom sketch as part of a collection of more than 40 in 1964.

Object Details
Object title:

Photograph of courtroom sketch of Joe Tonahill with subpoena at Ruby trial

Date:

February 1964 - March 1964

Terms:

Photographs

Jack Ruby trial

Sketches

Subpoena

Attorney

Trials

Artist

Artwork

Brodie, Howard

Tonahill, Joe H.

CBS News

Dallas

Medium:

Paper, Adhesive tape

Dimensions:

16 × 19 7/8 in. (40.6 × 50.5 cm)

Credit line:

Tonahill Family Partners Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Object number:

2014.034.0037

Curatorial Note:

Howard Brodie (1915-2010) was a sports artist for the San Francisco Chronicle when he enlisted in the U.S. Army with America's entry into World War II. He ultimately became one of the best-known sketch artists of the war, frequently published in the weekly U.S. military magazine, Yank, which ran from June 1942 to December 1945. After the war, Brodie spent the next thirty-five years as a courtroom artist, attending several notable trials including the Chicago Seven, Charles Manson and, of course, the Jack Ruby trial in 1964. For the Ruby trial, Brodie worked as a CBS-TV artist correspondent. Mr. Brodie recorded an oral history with the Museum in 2006. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator

Colorful Jasper, Texas, attorney Joe Halbert Tonahill, Sr. (1913-2001) was co-founder of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. Although well known in Jasper, Tonahill was lifted to national prominence by his longtime friend Melvin Belli when Belli hired the six-foot-four native Texan as his defense co-counsel. Tonahill recorded an oral history with The Sixth Floor Museum on August 9, 1996. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator