Mr. EISENBERG. Can you estimate the number of photographic examinations
you have made?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. This would be just an estimate. I would estimate
approximately 100, between 100 and 300. I couldn't come any closer than
that.
Mr. EISENBERG. Have you testified in court on the subject?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; I have.
Mr. EISENBERG. Mr. Chairman, may this witness testify as an expert in
the area of photography?
Mr. McCLOY. Yes; I think he is qualified.
Mr. EISENBERG. Mr. Shaneyfelt, I now hand you two small photographs
which have been already marked "Commission Exhibit 133," and I ask you
whether you are familiar with these photographs?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; I am.
Mr. EISENBERG. Now, for the record, these photographs appear to show
Lee Harvey Oswald in two different poses, and they were found by police
officers, following his apprehension, at one of the premises at which
he resided.
Mr. Chairman, I would like your permission to mark these photographs
"A" and "B" for easy identification; they have already been marked
"Commission Exhibit 133."
Again for the record, there are two poses represented in these
photographs. In one the rifle is held--a rifle is held--in front of the
body, and in one it is held somewhat above the torso. I am marking the
rifle--that photograph in which the weapon is held in front of the
body--as A, and the photograph in which the weapon is held somewhat
above the body as B.
Mr. McCLOY. When you say above the body, you mean above and to the
right side of the body as Oswald faces the viewer?
Mr. EISENBERG. Yes, sir.
Mr. Shaneyfelt, have you prepared reproductions of Exhibit 133A to show
the weapon pictured therein in further detail?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; I have.
Mr. EISENBERG. Could you show us those reproductions? Did you prepare
these yourself, Mr. Shaneyfelt?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; I did. They were prepared by rephotographing
Commission Exhibit 133A, to preparing a negative from which I made a
variety of prints of different densities to bring out the detail of the
rifle.
Mr. EISENBERG. When you say "of different densities," could you explain
that in lay terms?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; to try to get greater variation between the light
and dark areas of the photograph, or to bring out or enhance the
contrast so that the detail is more apparent.
Mr. EISENBERG. Mr. Chairman, I would like these photographs admitted as
Commission Exhibit 746.
Mr. McCLOY. You want to put them all into one exhibit?
Mr. EISENBERG. Yes; and I will subnumber them A, B, C, D, E.
Mr. McCLOY. Have you identified these sufficiently?
Mr. EISENBERG. Yes; I have.
Mr. McCLOY. I wonder whether you have?
Mr. EISENBERG. The witness has identified these as subphotographs of
133A. There are five photographs, is that correct, Mr. Shaneyfelt?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. That is correct.
Mr. McCLOY. Different dimensions?
Mr. EISENBERG. Two photographs being what size?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Two 11 by 14 inches, and three 8 by 10 inches.
(At this point Representative Ford entered the hearing room.)
Mr. McCLOY. Very well, they will be admitted.
(Commission Exhibit No. 746 was marked and received in evidence.)
Mr. EISENBERG. Let the record show I have marked these "Exhibits 746 A,
B, C, D, E", the two larger photographs being marked "A" and "B," and
three smaller photographs being marked "C," "D," and "E."
Mr. Shaneyfelt, I now hand you a rifle, Commission Exhibit 139,
which for the record I will state is the rifle which was used in the
assassination, and I ask you whether you are familiar with this weapon?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes.
Mr. EISENBERG. Have you prepared a photograph of this weapon, Mr.
Shaneyfelt, showing it in approximately the same manner as it is shown
in Commission Exhibit 133A, but without it being held by anyone?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. That is correct.
Mr. EISENBERG. Did you prepare this photograph?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. I prepared it myself.
Mr. EISENBERG. And that is an 8- by 10-inch photograph, is it?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. That is correct.
Mr. EISENBERG. Mr. Chairman, may I have this admitted as 747?
Mr. McCLOY. It may be admitted.
(The photograph referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 747, and
received into evidence.)
Mr. EISENBERG. Have you prepared a simulated photograph showing this
weapon, Commission Exhibit 139, held in approximately the same pose as
it appears to be held in Commission Exhibit 133A?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. I have; yes.
Mr. EISENBERG. And that is an 8- by 10-inch photograph?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. That is correct.
Mr. EISENBERG. Which you prepared yourself?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; I prepared the photograph myself, having the rifle
held in approximately the same position as in Exhibit 133A, and I
attempted to duplicate the lighting of the photograph, Exhibit 133A.
Mr. EISENBERG. Mr. Chairman, may I have this admitted?
Mr. McCLOY. It may be admitted.
(The photograph referred to was marked Commission Exhibit No. 748, and
was received into evidence.)
Mr. EISENBERG. Where was this photograph prepared, Mr. Shaneyfelt?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. This was prepared in the FBI laboratory.
Mr. EISENBERG. Was this inside or outside?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Outside.
Mr. EISENBERG. On the roof?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. On the roof of the Justice Building.
Mr. EISENBERG. I see the head of the individual in the photograph is
blacked out. Can you explain the reason for that?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. I blanked out the head because it was one of the
employees of the FBI, and I felt it was desirable to blank out the head
since it was not pertinent.
Mr. EISENBERG. Now, Mr. Shaneyfelt, based upon Exhibit 133A, upon your
reproductions of Exhibit 133A, consisting of the Exhibits Nos. 746 A
through E; and upon your photograph of the rifle, Exhibit 747, and your
simulation of 133A, Exhibit 748--have you formed an opinion concerning
whether Exhibit 139, the rifle used in the assassination, is the same
or similar to the rifle pictured in Exhibit 133A?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; I have.
Mr. EISENBERG. Can you give us that opinion?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. Yes; I compared the actual rifle with the photograph,
Exhibit 133A, and with the photographs that I prepared from Exhibit
133A, as well as the other simulated photograph and the photograph
of the rifle, attempting to establish whether or not it could be
determined whether it was or was not the same.
I found it to be the same general configuration. All appearances were
the same. I found no differences. I did not find any really specific
peculiarities on which I could base a positive identification to the
exclusion of all other rifles of the same general configuration.
I did find one notch in the stock at this point that appears very
faintly in the photograph, but it is not sufficient to warrant positive
identification.
Mr. EISENBERG. When you say "this point," you are pointing to the right
side of the weapon, to a point approximately 14 to 15 inches in front
of the bolt when the bolt is turned down--is that correct?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. That is correct.
Mr. EISENBERG. Mr. Shaneyfelt, looking at this Commission Exhibit 139,
the weapon, I see that the stock is curved downward, about 8 inches--at
a point approximately 8 inches--from the butt of the weapon, and that
it then recurves upward at an angle of approximately 10° to the plane
of the forepart of the butt--is that correct?
Mr. SHANEYFELT. That is correct.
Mr. EISENBERG. Now, I will hand you Commission Exhibits 746 A through
E, and I will ask you to select from those exhibits the photograph
which best brings out the various details of the weapon.
Mr. SHANEYFELT. I believe that the contour of the stock is best shown
in Commission Exhibit 746E.