Mr. EISENBERG. Can you make out the date which is next to that age, Mr.
Cole?
Mr. COLE. Well, I read the first part of the date as 1/27, and I am
unable to read the last figure, which is through a part of the very
heavy dotted line.
Mr. EISENBERG. Do there seem to be one or two figures?
Mr. COLE. It looks like a single figure there following a diagonal.
(Discussion off the record.)
Representative FORD. Back on the record.
Mr. EISENBERG. Mr. Cole, I now hand you an item consisting of part of
an application for a post office box, dated "box opened October 9,
1962," and also dated in the lower right "October 9, 1962," with the
signature "Lee H. Oswald" and I ask you whether you have examined that
item?
Mr. COLE. Yes, sir; I have.
Mr. EISENBERG. May I have that admitted as 791, Mr. Chairman?
Representative FORD. It may be admitted.
(Commission Exhibit No. 791 was marked and received in evidence.)
Mr. EISENBERG. Have you compared it with the standards in this case,
Mr. Cole?
Mr. COLE. I have.
Mr. EISENBERG. What is your conclusion?
Mr. COLE. It is my conclusion that the handprinted name "Lee H.
Oswald," the address "3519 Fairmore Ave.," and the signature "Lee H.
Oswald" on this document are in the hand of the person who executed the
standard writing.
Mr. EISENBERG. Have you prepared a photograph of 791?
Mr. COLE. Yes, sir; I have.
Mr. EISENBERG. Can you produce that?
Thank you. Is this photograph which you have handed me an accurate
reproduction prepared by you or under your supervision?
Mr. COLE. Yes, sir; it is.
Mr. EISENBERG. May I have this admitted as 792?
Representative FORD. It may be admitted.
(Commission Exhibit No. 792 was marked and received in evidence.)
Representative FORD. Continue.
Mr. EISENBERG. Before we go any further, what is your conclusion
concerning the words "Dallas, Texas" appearing after "Fairmore Ave."?
Mr. COLE. It is my conclusion that that wording is not in the writing
of the author of the standard writing.
Mr. EISENBERG. And that in "2915"?
Mr. COLE. That is not in the handwriting of the author of the standards.
Mr. EISENBERG. Do you have any idea who inserted that?
Mr. COLE. No, sir; I don't but I think in the handling of this kind of
material it happens from time to time that a postal clerk may complete
a document.
Mr. EISENBERG. Now, with reference to 792 and 784 A, B, and C, could
you explain the reasons for concluding that 791 is in the handwriting
of the author of the standards as to those portions which you have
designated as being in the handwriting of the author of the standards?
Mr. COLE. In the printed name at the upper left of the photograph 792
the capital "L" of "Lee" shows a compound curve across the base, which
has previously been mentioned as a handwriting habit found in the
standards, one example being on chart B, item 9, another example on
chart C, item 4.
The name "Oswald" shows the use of capital forms except for the letters
"ld." This particular use of a mixture of capitals and lower-case forms
is found on chart C, item 1, at the top line where the final forms "l"
and "d" are lower case forms.
I will mention also the particular writing movement used for
constructing the letter "d," referring to the photograph 792. There is
first a moderately long downstroke, and then without lifting the pen
there is a rising movement which at the same time moves towards the
left to complete the body of the letter. This method of construction
is also observed in the standards, chart C, item 1, top line, in the
"d" of "Oswald." Since there is a slightly more open effect at the base
in this standard "d," the method of construction can be seen clearly,
but it was made in the same way in the photograph, as shown by the
photograph 792.
In the word "Fairmore," it is observed that on the photograph 792 there
is a tendency to reduce the size of the small letter "i" and, of
course, this is again an example of the use of the lower case form in
combination with the capitals. The size relationship and the particular
mixture of this form with capitals is shown in the standard writing
chart C, item 5, in the word "deportations" and in the word "diet,"
also in item 9 in the word "curtailment."
The word "Fairmore" also shows the use of a lower case "e" in
combination with capital letters, which has been observed frequently
in several parts of the standard writing, one example not mentioned
heretofore is item 3 of chart C in the word "discharge."
The signature "Lee H. Oswald" along the lower line shown by the
photograph 792 compares favorably in all details with the signatures in
the name of "Lee H. Oswald" in several standard charts, being on chart
A, item 15; on chart B, again item 15; also on chart B, item No. 1; and
on chart C, item 6, the next to the last line. Now, one distinctive
feature of this signature is the writing movement employed in the
combination of letters capital "O" and the "s" following, where the
"s" form is rather blurred or corrupted. It does not give a complete
capital "s" form, but instead the upper part of the "s" is represented
only by a line which is approximately horizontal, sinking downwards to
the base of the "s," and then a looped form at the base.
Mr. EISENBERG. You said a capital "s" form; did you mean that?
Mr. COLE. No; I meant that it is not a complete "s" form. It is
somewhat slurred or blurred with respect to a true "s" form. This
particular method of slurring the form is clearly illustrated on chart
B, item 1, in the name "Oswald" and is also shown on chart B, item 15,
in the name "Oswald."
(At this point Senator Cooper entered the hearing room.)
Mr. COLE [continuing]. In the signature shown by the photograph 792, in
the capital "L," we observe with regard to the base loop, this would
be the lower half of the letter, we see a vertical aspect of that base
loop. Now, in a more conventional or, say, a copybook form of a letter
"L" you would find the base loop with a horizontal aspect, that is,
stretched out along the writing line. Here we find a vertical aspect of
that part, which is reproduced in the standard writing on chart A, item
15.
That last reference was to the base loop of the capital "L" of the
signature "Lee H. Oswald" as shown by the photograph 792 as compared
with chart A, item 15.
Now on the photograph 792, we observe that between the two upright
strokes of the letter "H" there is a very thin diagonal line of
joining. This is repeated in the standard writing, chart B, item 1, top
line. Now, again in this "H" as shown on 792 we see this more or less
vertical aspect of the treatment of a looped formation near the base of
the right side of the letter "H," that is, instead of moving fully to
the left to give a normal cross bar, there is only a base loop there
which, I say, is made in a vertical direction. This is repeated in the
standard writing, chart A, item 15, in the middle initial "H."
The "w" of "Oswald" shown by the photograph 792 is characterized by a
rather full rounding across the base of the letter, and this degree of
roundness is shown in the standard writing, chart B, item 15. There is
a horizontal stroke which constitutes the letter connection between
"w" and "a" shown by the photograph 792, and this method of making a
connection is repeated in the standards, chart B, item 15.
Mr. EISENBERG. You say "w" and "a"?
Mr. COLE. "w" and "a".
The size relationship between the letter "l" and the letter "d" as
shown by the photograph 792 is the same as that found on chart A, item
15. The relationship of the body of the "d"--by which I mean that part
which would ordinarily rest on the writing line, and in a conventional
form would be more or less circular--and the upper extension is also
similar as between the photograph 792 and chart A, item 15. In other
words, there is practically no roundness of the body. Again, we have
got an emphasis of the more or less vertical strokes for what should be
a rounded portion for the body.
This constitutes my reasons for believing that the questioned writing
as shown by the photograph 792 is in the hand of the person who
executed the standard writing.
Mr. EISENBERG. Any further questions on this application?
Representative FORD. No questions.
Mr. EISENBERG. Mr. Cole. I now hand you an item consisting of a
change-of-address card addressed to the "Postmaster, Dallas, Texas,"
dated May 12, 1963, relating to Post Office Box 2915 in Dallas,
Tex., setting forth a new address at Magazine Street, New Orleans,
and signed "Lee H. Oswald," and I ask you if you have examined that
change-of-address card?
Mr. COLE. Yes, I have.
Mr. EISENBERG. May this be admitted as 793, Mr. Chairman?
Representative FORD. It may be admitted.
(Commission Exhibit No. 793 was marked and received in evidence.)
Mr. EISENBERG. Have you compared that change-of-address card, 793, with
the standards in this case?
Mr. COLE. Yes, sir; I have.
Mr. EISENBERG. What is your conclusion?
Mr. COLE. It is my conclusion that the author of the writing on Exhibit
793 is the same person who executed the standard writings.
Mr. EISENBERG. Did you prepare a photograph of 793?
Mr. COLE. I did.
Mr. EISENBERG. Can you produce that?
Is this an accurate photograph, an accurate reproduction, of 793,
prepared by you or under your supervision?
Mr. COLE. Yes, it is.
Mr. EISENBERG. Mr. Chairman, may this be admitted as 794?
Representative FORD. It may be admitted.
(Commission Exhibit No. 794 was marked and received in evidence.)
Mr. EISENBERG. By reference to the photograph 794 and reference to your
charts 784 A, B, and C, could you discuss the reasons which led you to
your conclusion concerning this change-of-address card?
Mr. COLE. Handwriting habits shown by this exhibit, and I am looking
now at the photograph 794, have been mentioned heretofore. If it is
agreeable, I will simply review these in a body before proceeding to
the standard writing.
Mr. EISENBERG. Mr. Chairman, is that agreeable?
Representative FORD. You may proceed.
Mr. COLE. On line 1, shown by the photograph 794, the use of a lower
case "l" and "d" in combination with capital letters, the compound
curve across the base of the "L" in "Lee," the exaggerated length of
the comma between the two names; below, in the word "BOX," the somewhat
larger upper lobe of the capital "B"--excuse me, the somewhat smaller
upper lobe of the capital "B" as contrasted with the larger lobe of
that letter; in the "O" of "BOX" the connection or the closing of the
"O" fairly high on the left side instead of towards the center or the
right side, the same habit being also illustrated in the "O" in the
combination "P.O."; the form of the "2" with the rather prominent base
loop; the exaggerated length of the cap of the figure "5"; in the
word "Dallas," the compound curve across the base of the "L"s; the
circumstance that the "A" begins with a down stroke which is almost
exactly retraced; the circumstance that the word "Texas" includes a
lower case "e"; the use of the small letter "i" in combination with
capital letters in the word "Magazine"; and similar features to those
just described in the word "New Orleans."