Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

You know that I question the legitimacy of this ad from 1923.

The TSBD wasn't even registered as a corporate entity until 1927.

But wait! According to William Weston, who has researched this more than anybody, that 1927 corporate registration was NOT for the TSBD but the Hugh Perry Book Depository. Weston says that the name change to TSBD did not take place until 1947. 

But notice that the ad does say: 

         HUGH PERRY---Texas School Book Depository

So, it can't be a different, unrelated company. And the ad refers to "high school, college, and miscellaneous books". But wait. High school books are provided. Students don't have to buy them; the school provides them. Colleges, on the other hand, do not provide books; students have to buy them. So, it makes no sense to offer high school and college books together. 

But, it's practically a moot point because the TSBD carried books for the elementary grades. It was Dick and Janes readers. It didn't even go up to high school, and it certainly didn't include college.  You think a college would buy its textbooks from here?

The Texas Outlook, where that ad appeared, was published by the Texas State Teachers Association, and it did not include college professors. 

The ad lists Scott Foreman as a publisher- and what they published was books for the elementary grades and most famous for their Dick and Jane readers. 

So, why would you run an an ad saying that you've got books for high school and college and then start off with Scott Foreman?

But, let's be crystal: the TSBD never carried books for high school or college. Not in 1927. Not in 1947. Not in 1963. And not at any other time. 

Hugh Perry's Texas School Book Depository did not exist in 1923. All the evidence points to that. And therefore, this ad must be bogus.

According to William Weston, the Hugh Perry Book Depository occupied the 3rd floor of the Santa Fe building on Main Street in Dallas. And again, it was called the Hugh Perry Book Depository. So, why should we be willing to believe that in 1923, Perry had a Texas School Book Depository on Jackson Street in Dallas when he definitely was not going by that name then? And notice that the ad only has an address. But, they didn't have a sales operation  happening on site. It's not like they had salesmen there or invited people to come there to browse and inquire about making purchases. There is no evidence of that whatsoever. It was a warehouse; not a sales floor. 

Look: William Weston has it right. The TSBD was a CIA front company that was doing espionage, drug running and gun running under the guise of selling school books. Nobody could operate a book business the way these guys were supposedly doing it. It's laughable.