Henrique Alvim Corrêa's Martian Handling-Machine, War of the Worlds 1906

Drawn directly from H.G. Wells's 'The War of the Worlds,' this haunting sepia illustration depicts one of the Martians' terrifying handling-machines — the articulated, tentacled mechanical apparatus used by the alien invaders to manipulate their environment and harvest humans. Corrêa's masterful chiaroscuro technique conveys the machine's alien menace through coiling mechanical limbs emerging from billowing smoke and destruction, rendering Wells's invasion nightmare with visceral, almost nightmarish intensity that Wells himself reportedly admired.