1940’S PHOTOSHOPPING MACHINE

CREATED over 60 years ago, this weighty machine was the Photoshop of its time. The Adam’s Retouching Machine, which weighs two-and-a-half stone, was invented in 1947 and gave photographers the opportunity to perfect their pictures. Instead of uploading images to a computer, photographers would place their negative under the magnifying glass. Blemishes in the picture could then be smoothed out by using a retouching pencil, assisted by the gentle vibrations of the machine.

Other great stories
NERVOUS SQUIRREL

EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .

TUNNEL FOR VICTORY

What lies beneath this building site? Britain's great hope of winning the pre-WW2 arms race against Nazi Germany .

POOCHES POSE IN THEIR ELABORATE HEADSCARF COLLECTION

WRAPPED up in classy headscarves, these adorable pooches are the picture of sophistication .

CROCODILE CAVE DIVING PENSIONER

THIS DANGER-mad female pensioner could be the oldest Brit to cage dive with CROCODILES .

EYE-CATCHING TRIBAL HAIRSTYLES

BRAIDED, sculpted and beaded, these are the eye-catching hairstyles worn by the tribal women of Angola .

COLOURFUL FROGS PRACTICE THEIR FROG CRAWL

GLIDING through the water, these delightful frogs show off their vibrant colours as they practice their FROG crawl .

FISH AND BIRD TANGO

A trout manages to escape the jaws of a hungry cormorant - only to find itself back inside the bird's long beak .

JOLY THE WOLLY FALLS FOR PARKING PRANK

PRANKSTER Dom Joly was so livid when he was slapped with a parking ticket that he took to Twitter to vent his anger – only to discover he was the victim of his own gag! The comic got a taste of his own medicine when he was tricked by a fellow joker for the first time in a decade .

HUNGRY HIPPO MISSES OUT ON LUNCH

A hungry hippo is seconds away from catching a bird in its gigantic jaws .

NINJA RED SQUIRREL

A NINJA red squirrel cuts a dashing figure as the little fella jumps up to ten-feet between treetops in the Yorkshire Dales .

LIVING ON WATER: REFUGEES BUILD A LIFE AT SEA

SAILING over crystal clear waters, the Bajau people of Malaysia live their lives almost entirely at SEA .

FALSE KILLER WHALE BEAMS AS HE CATCHES HIS LUNCH

Say cheese! This cheeky chappy isn’t in the mood to live up to his scary reputation as he is pictured here cracking a killer smile as he goes about his daily business .