Altered Images

From the early 1900s to the 1980s – the days before Adobe Photoshop – photographers and editors had to manually alter photographs for publication in the newspaper.

Photographs were often retouched with paint or airbrushed. Transparencies, cut outs, and photo collages were also employed. For the most part, retouching emphasized aspects of the photo that would enhance the reader’s appreciation of the image. Other times they were altered and transformed (often in humorous ways) to illustrate a story.

The Toronto Star’s code of ethics now requires altered photos to be clearly labelled as Photo Illustrations so that they are not confused with documentary photographs.

The painted arrows on this photo illustrate the robbers’ dramatic get-away from the bank after escaping with $12,549. The hold-up men ran from the Bank of Montreal branch on Royce Avenue in Toronto and jumped into their waiting car. The car careened around the corner, leaped the curb to nick a pole, and sped north on Symington Ave.

This photo was originally published on February 11, 1947, unaltered, with an army vehicle throwing flames. On November 7, 1959, the truck was substituted for the army vehicle in order to illustrate bootleggers using flamethrowers “to foil police.”