Seeking Warren Commission Crafard Exhibit 5212, photos of Curtis Craford at the Carousel Club

[Greg Doudna]

Do the photos of Warren Commission Crafard Exhibit 5212 exist today?

Crafard Exhibit 5212 of the Warren Commission had several photographs showing Curtis Craford in a suit seated at the Carousel Club among other patrons. These photographs were catalogued and discussed in Warren Commission testimony. Nevertheless, the Warren Commission did not publish Exhibit 5212 in its 26 volumes of Hearings and Exhibits. 

The Warren Commission explained its lack of publication of Crafard Exhibit 5212 as follows: "Crafard Exhibits Nos. 5210-5220 are not reproduced because of their questionable taste and negligible relevance". https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1136#relPageId=12.

No photos of Curtis Craford at the Carousel Club, or anywhere else other than several FBI interview posed photos, are known to exist of him whether in Dallas or at any other time in his entire life. Does anyone know if Warren Commission Crafard Exhibit 5212 exists today? Is anyone able to find or locate those photos? 

Want to check if any of those photos shows a hairline at the back of his head that is tapered or block cut. 🙂

Mr. GRIFFIN. I am going to show you what I have marked in the same fashion Exhibit 5212, which is also a series of photographs. 
Do you recognize any of the people in those pictures? 
Mr. CRAFARD. The stripper is Little Lynn. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. In all of the pictures? 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. How about the patrons? Do you recognize any of the patrons? Mr. CRAFARD. Only myself. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. Where are you? 
Mr. CRAFARD. This doesn't look like me. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. Is that you? 
Mr. CRAFARD. No; it is not me at all. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. Is that you right there? You have indicated to me that your photograph appears in a number of these pictures. 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. And let me indicate that you are in the photograph in the upper right-hand corner, and you are the man in a black suit who is seated second from the left along the runway. 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. And in the picture immediately below that you occupy the same position? 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. The picture immediately below that which is the third from the top, on the right-hand side you occupy the same position? 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. And the stripper is Little Lynn? 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. Then moving into the center set of pictures you appear in the same position third from the bottom? 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. And the same position at the bottom? 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, is this suit and dress that you show here, is that the way you were normally dressed at the Carousel Club? 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. These pictures were taken as a photographic stunt, also.  

 

Edited January 8 by Greg Doudna

[Tom Gram]

4 hours ago, Greg Doudna said:

Do the photos of Warren Commission Crafard Exhibit 5212 exist today?

Crafard Exhibit 5212 of the Warren Commission had several photographs showing Curtis Craford in a suit seated at the Carousel Club among other patrons. These photographs were catalogued and discussed in Warren Commission testimony. Nevertheless, the Warren Commission did not publish Exhibit 5212 in its 26 volumes of Hearings and Exhibits. 

The Warren Commission explained its lack of publication of Crafard Exhibit 5212 as follows: "Crafard Exhibits Nos. 5210-5220 are not reproduced because of their questionable taste and negligible relevance". https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1136#relPageId=12.

No photos of Curtis Craford at the Carousel Club, or anywhere else other than several FBI interview posed photos, are known to exist of him whether in Dallas or at any other time in his entire life. Does anyone know if Warren Commission Crafard Exhibit 5212 exists today? Is anyone able to find or locate those photos? 

Want to check if any of those photos shows a hairline at the back of his head that is tapered or block cut. 🙂

Mr. GRIFFIN. I am going to show you what I have marked in the same fashion Exhibit 5212, which is also a series of photographs. 
Do you recognize any of the people in those pictures? 
Mr. CRAFARD. The stripper is Little Lynn. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. In all of the pictures? 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. How about the patrons? Do you recognize any of the patrons? Mr. CRAFARD. Only myself. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. Where are you? 
Mr. CRAFARD. This doesn't look like me. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. Is that you? 
Mr. CRAFARD. No; it is not me at all. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. Is that you right there? You have indicated to me that your photograph appears in a number of these pictures. 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. And let me indicate that you are in the photograph in the upper right-hand corner, and you are the man in a black suit who is seated second from the left along the runway. 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. And in the picture immediately below that you occupy the same position? 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. The picture immediately below that which is the third from the top, on the right-hand side you occupy the same position? 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. And the stripper is Little Lynn? 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. Then moving into the center set of pictures you appear in the same position third from the bottom? 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. And the same position at the bottom? 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. 
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, is this suit and dress that you show here, is that the way you were normally dressed at the Carousel Club? 
Mr. CRAFARD. Yes. These pictures were taken as a photographic stunt, also.  

 

Is this a reference to the same photos?

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=62230#relPageId=180

If so it looks like the WC obtained them from the photographer Rocco and gave them to the FBI to show to Harvey Wade. There’s also an internal memo follow-up saying the photos are enclosed. This is from the FBI WC liaison file. 

Here’s the same letter in the Oswald HQ file. There is a handwritten notation with the JFK HQ file number on it too so the same letter/memo is probably somewhere in that file too. 

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=59633#relPageId=228

The 8/27/64 memo orders agents to return the photos with their LHM response. The actual file number is a Ruby file number, and there’s a CC to Dallas noted at the bottom. Here’s the LHM response: 

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=11863#relPageId=2

And here’s the transmittal airtel for the LHM from the Ruby file. This one says the photos will be returned to FBI HQ by a separate communication: 

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=57077#relPageId=2

I would try to track down that “separate communication”. It’ll probably just be an airtel cover sheet saying that the photos are enclosed.

After that, I’d go through the JFK database looking for every copy of that airtel and other documents from the above  communication thread in the Ruby HQ File, Dallas Ruby File, Oswald HQ File, JFK HQ File, Oswald Dallas File, JFK Dallas File, WC Liason File etc., log the agency file numbers, and look for any Enclosure Behind File (EBF’s) with those same file numbers.

Example for the LHM transmittal letter would be “EBF Serial 44-24016-2000”. We know the photos weren’t sent with that LHM, but you get the idea. 

All the memos that mention enclosed photos should have an attached EBF somewhere - but it’s possible that the FBI just shipped the originals back and forth and never made any copies. 

Another potential strategy is try to track down internal WC records on the photos mentioned in the memos. 

If the above discussed photos aren’t the same photos, there should still be a paper trail somewhere on how the WC got ahold of Exhibits 5210-5220. I’ll keep looking when I get a chance. 

Edited January 8 by Tom Gram

[Tom Gram]

Greg, check this out. It’s a folder of the Eddie Rocco photographs with tons of images from the Carousel Club. 

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=11118#relPageId=37

Lots of naked strippers… Don’t see that everyday on MFF haha. 

EDIT: And here’s Crafard Exhibit 5212 from the same folder: 

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=11118#relPageId=51

The other Crafard exhibits are in there too. 

Edited January 8 by Tom Gram

[Greg Doudna]

3 hours ago, Tom Gram said:

Greg, check this out. It’s a folder of the Eddie Rocco photographs with tons of images from the Carousel Club. 

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=11118#relPageId=37

Lots of naked strippers… Don’t see that everyday on MFF haha. 

EDIT: And here’s Crafard Exhibit 5212 from the same folder: 

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=11118#relPageId=51

The other Crafard exhibits are in there too. 

THANK YOU TOM!! There it is -- Crafard Exhibit 5212 with Craford in several of those photos self-identified by Craford in his testimony and recognizable compared with his FBI photos. 

Alas I don't see Craford from the back in any of the 5212 photos to confirm or disconfirm a block-cut rear hairline (to confirm or disconfirm agreement with Benavides' block-cut rear hairline of the Tippit killer, which is in disagreement with Oswald's tapered rear hairline).  

I wonder if Craford is in any of the other photos in that archive. At least with the verified Craford ones in 5212 there is a better idea of what to look for. 

He sure has a full head of hair, compare "bushy" descriptions of the killer's hair at the Tippit crime scene. In that middle photo on the right is that top front teeth missing in Craford's smile? 

Anyway, the 5212 photos are FOUND, "tusind tak" Tom as they say in Denmark!