Jules Verne's Autour de la Lune: Rescue of J.T. Maston, Italian Edition
This wood engraving illustrates a dramatic sea-rescue scene from Jules Verne's 'Autour de la Lune' (Around the Moon), the sequel to 'De la Terre à la Lune.' The caption identifies the moment as 'J.T. Maston Salvato' (J.T. Maston Saved), depicting the aftermath of the Columbiad projectile's splashdown in the ocean, with a steamship and rescuers amid explosive plumes of smoke and turbulent waves as characters debate whether the capsule's occupants survived the impact and possible asphyxiation.
The dramatic maritime disaster rendered in kinetic engraving — ship collapsing, explosive spray, roiling storm clouds — delivers solid Victorian spectacle. It lacks the lurid color and alien strangeness of true pulp art, but Verne's mad-science premise elevates it well above mere adventure illustration.
“J. T. MASTON SALVATO. 181 — Vivono, rispondeva un altro. Lo strato d'acqua è profondo e la caduta fu ammortita. — Ma manca loro l'aria, diceva questi, ed essi hanno dovuto morire asfissiati!”
