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TV Camera That Was Present When Ruby Shot Oswald

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA
TV Camera That Was Present When Ruby Shot Oswald

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Auction Date:2013 Oct 24 @ 12:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:60 School Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02108, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Historic early 1960s General Electric video broadcast camera, originally owned by KTVT Channel 11 Television news in Fort Worth, Texas, which recorded Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement of the Dallas Police Station on November 24, 1963. This General Electric Portable Camera measures 12.5 x 22 x 16, 63? high on the tripod. A metal data plate is screwed to the inside and is visible when the side door is opened. Plate reads, “General Electric Portable Camera / Model 4PC4A1 Rev A.” Directly above the plate is a stamped number, which reads, “GE23437.”The camera is complete with original tripod and head mount. The exterior retains most of its original paint scheme and Channel 11 logos. The inside is empty, with all parts having been removed, and no lens accompanies the camera, as those were saved by the studios after the cameras were taken out of service. In very good condition, with expected age wear and areas of light to moderate rusting.

Following the shooting of Kennedy, Dallas-Fort Worth news stations pulled together to cover the quickly developing news in numerous locations throughout the city; among them was KTVT Channel 11 in Dallas, who received permission from WBAP-TV, the NBC affiliate in the market, to duplicate their feed until things returned to normal. As ‘a small quid pro quo’ for the coverage, KTVT let WBAP use their live remote truck carrying this camera, along with the production and engineering personnel who manned it. ‘As fate would have it,’ says anchorman and manager of KTVT, Crawford Rice, ‘it was the KTVT truck that was on duty for WBAP at the Dallas County Jail on Sunday morning, when Lee Harvey Oswald was…shot by Jack Ruby.’ After the dust settled, the camera was returned to the station and life went on. When Channel 11 upgraded to newer units, Sid Burns, superintendent of the station’s camera department, took possession of this camera to preserve its historical value. It remained in his care until the late 1990s, when he sold it to Kenney Boone, owner of Texas Gas, Automotive and Petroleum Collectibles in Fort Worth, who displayed it in his store for years before selling it to well-known Texas collector Tom Rainone. Notarized letters from both Boone and Rainone are included, providing corroborating evidence of the camera’s authenticity from staff at Channel 11, including well-established staff member Tom Finn. An absolutely remarkable and visually stunning piece.