Final Illustration to 'Around the Moon' — Italian Edition, 1874
This is the closing illustration ('Per finire') from the 1874 Italian edition of Jules Verne's 'Autour de la Lune' (sequel to 'De la Terre à la Lune'), illustrated by Bayard and de Neuville. It depicts a triumphant train procession celebrating the moon travelers' return, with crowds cheering and flags waving. The caption muses on future interstellar travel, from Polaris to Sirius, echoing Verne's speculative optimism about space exploration rather than Flammarion's astronomy texts.
More philosophical daydream than pulp spectacle — closer to a contemplative lecture hall than an exploding space station. The drama is in the idea, not the imagery: a mundane steam train reimagined as humanity's first starship.
“PER FINIRE. 199 più tardi dall'una all'altra stella, dalla Polare a Sirio? E si troverà un modo di locomozione che permetta di visitare i soli che formicolano nel firmamento?”
