Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Authenticity of Oswald Rifle Photographs

FBI photography expert Lyndal Shaneyfelt photographed the assassination rifle in a position duplicating Exhibit 133-A and testified the rifles shared the same general configuration, including a faintly visible notch in the stock. While he found no differences, he could not make a positive identification to the exclusion of all other similar rifles. Authenticity of the photographs was established through Shaneyfelt’s comparison of the Exhibit 133-B negative with a new negative made using Oswald’s Imperial Reflex camera, concluding the negative was exposed in Oswald’s camera to the exclusion of all others. Exhibit 133-A could not be tested the same way because its negative was never recovered, but identical backgrounds, lighting, and shadows indicate the two pictures were taken at the same time with the same camera, consistent with Marina Oswald’s testimony.

Dating of the Oswald Rifle Photograph

The timing of the photograph aligns with the rifle’s acquisition timeline. The rifle was shipped from Klein’s in Chicago on March 20, 1963, while the Oswalds lived on Neely Street. By examining the newspapers Oswald held, the Commission determined the photograph must have been taken sometime after March 27, 1963. Marina testified it was taken on a Sunday about two weeks before the attempted shooting of Major General Edwin A. Walker on April 10, 1963. By Sunday, March 31, Oswald had likely received the rifle shipped from Chicago, the revolver shipped from Los Angeles, and the two newspapers appearing in the picture.