Postcard of wax figure of Lee Harvey Oswald
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Postcard of wax figure of Lee Harvey Oswald
Color postcard of a wax figure depicting Lee Harvey Oswald at the Southwestern Historical Wax Museum in Dallas, Texas. Front of card shows the wax figure holding a rifle with a low wall and two cardboard boxes marked "books" in front. "Copyright ©1965, Southwestern Historical Wax Museum Corporation, Dallas, Texas" printed in lower left corner.Back of postcard is printed with the following captions:"Lee Harvey Oswald, named assassin of President Kennedy by the President’s Commission is one of the life-size wax figures in the Southwestern Historical Wax Museum at State Fair Park in Dallas Texas. He holds an exact duplicate of the rifle and scope used in the slaying." "Copyright ©1965, Southwestern Historical Wax Museum Corporation, Dallas, Texas, 2571-C""Published by Southwestern Historical Wax Museum, Dallas, Texas" "Made for Dexter Press, Inc. West Nyack, New York"This image is not available online larger than a thumbnail to protect the copyright of its creator(s). For a more detailed examination of this item, please schedule an appointment in the Museum’s Reading Room.
Postcard of wax figure of Lee Harvey Oswald
1965
Paper
5 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (14 x 8.9 cm)
The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Collection
2002.025.0001
The Southwestern Historical Wax Museum opened at Fair Park in Dallas on September 15, 1963, as a part of the State Fair of Texas. Shortly after the Kennedy assassination, wax museums--which were popular attractions across the United States in the 1960s--began creating figures and set pieces to memorialize President Kennedy and the events of November 22, 1963. The Dallas museum was no exception. Between September 1964 and November 1965, three assassination-related vignettes opened at the wax museum depicting the Kennedys and Connallys arriving at Dallas Love Field, Lyndon Johnson taking the oath of office aboard Air Force One, and alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald--rifle in hand--among cardboard school book boxes. Oswald's mother, Marguerite, visited her son's wax likeness in November 1965 and returned several times over the years. A photograph of Marguerite with this wax figure can been seen in James DiEugenio's Destiny Betrayed: JFK, Cuba and the Garrison Case (1992). Photographs of the Kennedy vignettes at the Dallas museum and other U.S. wax museums can be found in Gene Gurney's America in Wax (1977). Both of these books are available in The Sixth Floor Museum's Reading Room.Interestingly, in June 1967, Jack Ruby's former roommate, George Senator, sold the Southwestern Historical Wax Museum a suit of clothes allegedly worn by Ruby. In addition to its wax figures, the museum collected and displayed a variety of historical artifacts such as vintage firearms, miniatures, and sewing machines, while some of the wax figures even wore clothing once owned by the real personalities. Although several wax museums in the United States featured vignettes depicting the instantly recognizable moment when Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald, such a display was never part of the Dallas museum. In April 1971, the Southwestern Historical Wax Museum announced its move from Fair Park to expanded facilities in Grand Prairie, Texas, re-opening under the same name on May 19, 1972. The assassination vignettes were part of this move and, along with a set piece depicting the Lincoln assassination at Ford's Theatre, formed a "Lincoln and Kennedy" section which emphasized alleged coincidences between the two martyred leaders. Unfortunately, a four-alarm fire on September 9, 1988, completely destroyed the museum, all of its historical artifacts, and all but one of its wax figures (a wax cowgirl in the museum's exterior box office partially survived the blaze). A smaller wax museum, combined with a new Ripley's Believe it or Not! exhibition, opened in segments at the site between June 1989 and March 1990. As of 2012, this museum--now known as Louis Tussaud's Palace of Wax--includes a single wax figure of President John F. Kennedy as part of a "Hall of Presidents" display but no direct reference to the assassination. Drew Hunter, creative director of the Southwestern Historical Wax Museum for several years, recorded an oral history with The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in 2010. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
Postcard of wax figure of Lee Harvey Oswald
Color postcard of a wax figure depicting Lee Harvey Oswald at the Southwestern Historical Wax Museum in Dallas, Texas. Front of card shows the wax figure holding a rifle with a low wall and two cardboard boxes marked "books" in front. "Copyright ©1965, Southwestern Historical Wax Museum Corporation, Dallas, Texas" printed in lower left corner.Back of postcard is printed with the following captions:"Lee Harvey Oswald, named assassin of President Kennedy by the President’s Commission is one of the life-size wax figures in the Southwestern Historical Wax Museum at State Fair Park in Dallas Texas. He holds an exact duplicate of the rifle and scope used in the slaying." "Copyright ©1965, Southwestern Historical Wax Museum Corporation, Dallas, Texas, 2571-C""Published by Southwestern Historical Wax Museum, Dallas, Texas" "Made for Dexter Press, Inc. West Nyack, New York"This image is not available online larger than a thumbnail to protect the copyright of its creator(s). For a more detailed examination of this item, please schedule an appointment in the Museum’s Reading Room.
Postcard of wax figure of Lee Harvey Oswald
1965
Postcard
Memorabilia
Wax figures
Pop Culture
Oswald, Lee Harvey
Southwestern Historical Wax Museum
State Fair of Texas
Dallas
West Nyack
Paper
5 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (14 x 8.9 cm)
The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Collection
2002.025.0001
The Southwestern Historical Wax Museum opened at Fair Park in Dallas on September 15, 1963, as a part of the State Fair of Texas. Shortly after the Kennedy assassination, wax museums--which were popular attractions across the United States in the 1960s--began creating figures and set pieces to memorialize President Kennedy and the events of November 22, 1963. The Dallas museum was no exception. Between September 1964 and November 1965, three assassination-related vignettes opened at the wax museum depicting the Kennedys and Connallys arriving at Dallas Love Field, Lyndon Johnson taking the oath of office aboard Air Force One, and alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald--rifle in hand--among cardboard school book boxes. Oswald's mother, Marguerite, visited her son's wax likeness in November 1965 and returned several times over the years. A photograph of Marguerite with this wax figure can been seen in James DiEugenio's Destiny Betrayed: JFK, Cuba and the Garrison Case (1992). Photographs of the Kennedy vignettes at the Dallas museum and other U.S. wax museums can be found in Gene Gurney's America in Wax (1977). Both of these books are available in The Sixth Floor Museum's Reading Room.Interestingly, in June 1967, Jack Ruby's former roommate, George Senator, sold the Southwestern Historical Wax Museum a suit of clothes allegedly worn by Ruby. In addition to its wax figures, the museum collected and displayed a variety of historical artifacts such as vintage firearms, miniatures, and sewing machines, while some of the wax figures even wore clothing once owned by the real personalities. Although several wax museums in the United States featured vignettes depicting the instantly recognizable moment when Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald, such a display was never part of the Dallas museum. In April 1971, the Southwestern Historical Wax Museum announced its move from Fair Park to expanded facilities in Grand Prairie, Texas, re-opening under the same name on May 19, 1972. The assassination vignettes were part of this move and, along with a set piece depicting the Lincoln assassination at Ford's Theatre, formed a "Lincoln and Kennedy" section which emphasized alleged coincidences between the two martyred leaders. Unfortunately, a four-alarm fire on September 9, 1988, completely destroyed the museum, all of its historical artifacts, and all but one of its wax figures (a wax cowgirl in the museum's exterior box office partially survived the blaze). A smaller wax museum, combined with a new Ripley's Believe it or Not! exhibition, opened in segments at the site between June 1989 and March 1990. As of 2012, this museum--now known as Louis Tussaud's Palace of Wax--includes a single wax figure of President John F. Kennedy as part of a "Hall of Presidents" display but no direct reference to the assassination. Drew Hunter, creative director of the Southwestern Historical Wax Museum for several years, recorded an oral history with The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in 2010. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
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