This article discusses an early example of image manipulation from the 19th century involving portraits of Abraham Lincoln and John Calhoun. Here’s a summary:
- A famous 1865 portrait of Abraham Lincoln was actually a doctored image using John Calhoun’s body from an 1852 painting.
- The Lincoln photo used was taken by Anthony Berger in 1864 and was featured on the five-dollar bill from 1914-2007.
- The manipulation involved superimposing Lincoln’s head onto a painting of Calhoun, a slavery advocate, creating an ironic juxtaposition.
- This doctoring occurred after Lincoln’s assassination in 1865 when demand for his images surged.
- The composite was likely created by printmaker William Pate, who also altered text in the image to reflect Lincoln’s values rather than Calhoun’s.
- This historical example demonstrates that image manipulation predates modern digital techniques by over a century.
- The article notes the irony of using Lincoln’s image, a symbol of emancipation, on the body of a slaveowner and nullifier.
- It also mentions that Mathew Brady, a famous Civil War photographer, was known to doctor photographs to create more compelling images.
The article uses this historical case to illustrate that concerns about manipulated images are not new and have existed long before the digital age and AI. 
Original Article Appears Here