Description

Does anybody know where this sepia photograph comes from? I have only seen it tagged in obscure posts, but it is usually referenced as the site where a UFO crashed near the town of Roswell in 1947:

The sepia photograph in question (https://preview.redd.it/lme20porzfce1.png?width=505&format=png&auto=w…)

The sepia photograph shows what appears to be a strange craft resting in front of a mesa, with some figures standing around it. If we guess the size of the craft based on figures, it roughly matches the estimate provided by UFO researchers in the 1990s. The photograph is of poor quality so little else is observable.

It is important to remember that this is supposed to be where the craft came to rest, and is far removed from the site where wreckage was found by rancher William Ware “Mack” Brazel on the morning of July 4th, 1947. The site of the wreckage that Brazel found was located 30 miles southeast of the small town of Corona, New Mexico, and the site where the craft allegedly came to rest is a further 27 miles southeast, closer to the town of Roswell:

Approximate locations of the wreckage and the craft (https://preview.redd.it/7fkdioty2gce1.png?width=288&format=png&auto=w…)

A side-by-side comparison of the structures seen at the location from the sepia photograph and areas of interest in the Roswell case seems to fit the appearance of this contemporary site, where the craft allegedly came to rest:

A side-by-side comparison of the alleged crash site and the same location in present-day (https://preview.redd.it/5y034ibq3gce1.png?width=970&format=png&auto=w…)

This case was comprehensively researched in the 1990s by many prominent UFO researchers, and the location above is apparently accurate so far as what most researchers came to believe was the actual site (if this is incorrect, please correct me). The shape of the craft loosely matches the structure according to Philip J. Corso as well. Variations in the casted shadows on the mesa imply that the sepia photograph, if real, was taken early in the morning or late in the evening. Additional contemporary photographs of the alleged crash site appear to show similar structures and brush on the mesa:

The alleged crash site in present-day (https://preview.redd.it/xwdpnm0g0gce1.jpg?width=576&format=pjpg&auto=…)

Another view of the alleged crash site in present-day (https://preview.redd.it/17h35vri0gce1.jpg?width=589&format=pjpg&auto=…)

A photograph from the late 1980s or early 1990s, taken by UFO researcher William Louis MacDonald, shows what appears to be the same site:

A photograph of the site taken by UFO research William Louis MacDonald (https://preview.redd.it/r85v7xfb4gce1.png?width=700&format=png&auto=w…)

The above location also matches that of a crude drawing, sketched by an alleged eyewitness to the crash site in the 1990s, that was provided to UFO researchers. A reproduction of this drawing is provided in the book "UFO CRASH AT ROSWELL", published by Kevin D. Randle and Donald R. Schmitt. This drawing portrays a lens-shaped craft upended in front of a mesa, similar to what is visible in the sepia photograph.

Notwithstanding the consistency of the sites in these renderings, I am looking to find the first accessible reference of this sepia photograph - was it online, or was it published in a magazine? If somebody else is able to provide extra information it would be very helpful, thank you!


Sources:

Corso, Philip J. *The Day After Roswell*. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. https://archive.org/details/dayafterroswell00cors_0

Randle, Kevin D., and Donald R. Schmitt. *UFO CRASH AT ROSWELL*. New York: AVON BOOKS, 1991.

Ryan, Bill. “Possible Original Photo of the Roswell Craft.” The Project Avalon Forum, February 7, 2010. https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?3707-Possible-origina…