We often hear the term 'that is photoshopped' as a derogatory remark suggesting the image presented as been edited 'unnaturally'.

But editing of photos is not something that began with the digital era. So here I present some photos that where 'photoshopped' before photoshop even existed.

Mary Todd Lincoln's portrait with the ghost of her husband, Abraham Lincoln was taken in the early 1870s.


The series of five photographs were taken by two young cousins, Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths between 1917 and 1920. These were used by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to illustrate his article about fairies. This made the pictures world-famous. In the early 1980s, the old women confessed they've used cardboard figures. Cottingley Fairies (1917-1920)




Skiing in Egypt, 1938


So when someone says your photo has been photoshopped, what will you tell them now?