During a conference sponsored by the JFK Historical Group and Project JFK, this past November in Dallas, one of the most important discoveries in JFK assassination research history was made. Researcher and author Gary Fannin obtained and shared the long-lost and sought-after negative of the Altgens6 photograph. In JFK lore, this is the equivalent of finding the Holy Grail itself, inasmuch that many believe it is the smoking gun of an elaborate conspiracy and cover-up perpetrated in the assassination of John Kennedy on 22 November 1963.
The first two chapters of my book “The JFK Horsemen” 2018, present a mountain of evidence that shows first, the improbability of the official timeline of the distribution of the photograph, and second, the massive editing and airbrushing the photo underwent before it was distributed nationwide. Over the years, what appears to be several different versions have emerged, some cropped on the sides, others at the top and bottom. Besides the contact print shown here, the entire positive photograph had never been shown — until now.
These are Altgens photos 2 through 8 as seen in the contact sheet, which by the way, is missing at least five photos had it been a roll of 12:
Here is the contact sheet image of the Altgens6 which will now serve to authenticate the negative provided by Fannin.
The following is a scan of the negative processed by David Knight of Project JFK. By doing a simple overlay of both images, it should be easy to confirm if the contact sheet image above came from the negative below. Note the partially faded area at the top right, the upside-down “TRI”, which provides a unique identifier to work with for the overlay procedure:
As noted, the upside-down letters above the sprocket holes, “TRI X PAN FILM”, combined with the right-pointing arrow and the number six below, serve nicely as perfect reference points which allow overlaying, moving, and scaling of the images onto one another as follows — in this case, with 50% opacity between the control and the unknown sample here is the result:
And here is an animated overlay gif that goes from 0 to 100 percent opacity:
Indeed they appear to be a perfect match. The next image is a lower-resolution copy of a positive from an ultra-high-definition scan of the negative by Mr. Knight. The higher definition scan has been retained by Mr. Fannin for research:
Other versions of the Altgens6
The publication of the Altgens6 photograph spawned several other versions of it. For example, the Saturday Evening Post published this one on 14 December 1963. The reader will note cropping at the top and bottom. On the horizontal plane, the image is intact:
Here is another version that included the top portion but cropped the left and right sides:
Alterations are in the negative
After careful examination of the high-definition positive scan shown above, it is clear that the same alterations posited in “The JFK Horsemen” are also embedded in the negative. Of course, getting into how it was done is beyond the scope of this article, however, without going into the more egregious alterations such as the TSBD doorway and the windshield of the JFK Lincoln Continental, let’s point out just a few.
Cameras galore
These are women on the North curb of Elm Street with cameras trained right on the motorcade. None of the films or photos taken here are known to exist:
Best seat in the house
Pay close attention to the upper left-hand corner of The Altgens5 photograph which shows the motorcade on Houston as it approached the Elm Street intersection:
This unidentified African American man sitting on the fire escape of the second floor of the Dal-Tex building had the best view of the plaza yet he was never called before any investigative process. Right off of his left hand is what appears to be someone looking out of the window in the direction of the oncoming vehicles on Houston Street. Even more significant is the fact that the fire escape structure around the vertical pole which forms part of the frame does not show any shadow or blemish of any kind.
The area in question in the Altgens5, which appears to show an individual peering out of the window above seems to match the one that has been air-brushed out of the Altgens6 below:
Secret Service Agent Emory Roberts
This is a close-up of Emory Roberts riding shotgun in the photograph shown above, just seconds before turning onto Houston and into Dealey Plaza. The shadows fall in almost the same direction as they do in the Altgens6. Notice his face is free of any shadows, marks, or blemishes.
Emory Roberts in the Algens6 composite with artifact covering his mouth:
Emory Roberts abandoned the JFK Secret Service detail that day at Parkland Hospital to join his new boss President Lyndon Johnson for the flight back to Washington in Air Force One. He continued to work for Johnson as his “receptionist” until his retirement.
So we appear to have come full circle here. Generations of JFK investigators, authors, and researchers went to their graves never having a chance to see what has been presented above. Once the negative was in hand, and with 21st-century technology — it did not take long to prove that the extant Altgens6 and its negative is a fake that certainly does not depict what really happened on Elm Street that day.