Original Associated Press wire photo showing President Harry S. Truman being initiated into the Order of Shellbacks aboard the battleship USS Missouri as it crossed the equator September 12, 1947, returning from Rio de Janeiro. Caption carries a September 17 release date and describes Truman listening to charges from the "royal prosecutor" in King Neptune's court. Costumed sailors surround him, with the ship's guns behind them. Measures 7⅞X6¼" overall. Separate caption is taped to the front along the bottom with yellowed tape; tape also remains on the corners. Shows emulsion loss at the left figure's shoulder, on Truman's trousers and below the table, plus scuffs, scratches, discoloration, creasing and worn edges and corners. From the archive of a Pittsburgh-area newspaper.
