ASSASSINATION OF LEE HARVEY OSWALD IN WAX

WAX MUSEUMS—one of my favorite postcard categories. The postcards are bad. The exhibits are BAD! In most instances, the figures look like reconfigured mannequins. You will often see dropped ceilings, fluorescent lighting, and crude settings and decoration. In this image, you can see the square stands that support the figures. (They are painted the same color as the floor, yet they are quite visible.)

This scene is recreating the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald based on a photograph of the event. Oswald was handcuffed to the detective (left), while Jack Ruby (right) shoots Oswald.

The detective looks like he has severe arthritis in his hands. (Mannequin?) Oswald appears to be breaking into a song and dance.

The text on the back of the card states: “This is just one of the many scenes in the Chamber of Horrors, which is famous at Josephine Tussaud’s London Wax Museum, 5505 Gulf Blvd., St. Petersburg Beach, Florida.” Horrors, indeed; but not the way they intended.

Museum exhibition has come a long way.