This is an amazing retouching skill for the period. But to me it is nothing but collage and retouching which proves the quality of the work.
Among other things, several seconds were needed for the exposure of this photo to take place (this is not taken by iPhone mind you!) and that would have blurred the picture completely unless you really believe our Hercules, not only could lift these guys that way, but could hold them in that position for several seconds without moving!
This is in Qajar period... filling-in for RedWine!