In early PageMaker, when you placed an image (TIFF or EPS), the software linked to an external file. If that file was moved or deleted before printing, DTP software would print a placeholder box with a default system error message. The default message in some 1987 pre-release versions of DTP software was: "Picture is not shown."
Because 1988 saw improved DTP software (PageMaker 2.0, QuarkXPress 1.0) that used better error handling and placeholder warnings. By 1989, most publishers reverted to traditional printing or fixed image linking. picture is not shown book 1987