Composograph.

When it began publication in 1924 Bernarr Macfadden’s New York Graphic claimed to inaugurate a new brand of journalism. Its brazen exploitation of the sensational; focus on crime, gossip, sex, and scandals; and utter disregard for the truth set a model for “tabloid” journalism to this day. The Graphic’s inventiveness extended to publication of “composographs,” retouched photographic collages that claimed to show events not actually caught on film—such as movie idol Rudolph Valentino’s 1926 operation, from which he never recovered. The Graphic itself was short-lived, going out of business in 1932.

Source: New York Graphic, 1926—Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.