June 2008 issue of Scientific American
Photography lost its innocence not long after it was born. As early as the 1860s photos were already being manipulated—only a few decades after Joseph Nicéphore Niépce created the first photograph in 1826. With the advent of high-resolution digital cameras, powerful personal computers and sophisticated photo-editing software, the manipulation of digital images has proliferated. Here, I have collected some examples of tampering throughout photography's over 180-year history.
Circa 1860:
This nearly iconic portrait of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is a composite of Lincoln's head and the body of Southern politician, John Calhoun. Putting the date of this photo into context, note that the first permanent photographic image was created in 1826 and the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company (later to become Eastman Kodak) was created in 1884.
1942:
In order to create a more heroic portrait of himself, Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini had the horse handler removed from the original photograph.
September 1971:
The chancellor of West Germany, Willy Brandt [far left], meets with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev [far right], first secretary of the Communist Party. The two smoke and drink, and it is reported that the atmosphere is cordial—and also that they are drunk. German media publishes a photograph that shows the champagne bottles on the table. The Soviet press, however, removed the bottles from the original photograph.
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