Boing Boing Staging

Life on the Moon as imagined in 1836

In the old days, Mars was peopled by one vast thinking vegetable, and the Moon was peopled by stick-wielding bat-men and moth-winged moon maidens.

From the Smithsonian Institute Image Collections:

This portfolio of hand-tinted lithographs purports to illustrate the “discovery of life on the moon.” In 1836, Richard E. Locke, writing for the New York Sun, claimed that the noted British astronomer Sir John Herschel had discovered life on the moon. Flora and fauna included bat-men, moon maidens (with luna-moth wings), moon bison, and other extravagant life forms. Locke proposed an expedition to the moon using a ship supported by hydrogen balloons.

The first order of business for Earthlings? Enslave the Moon men and slaughter the Moon animals!

Other discoveries made in the moon from Sigr. Herschel (Via Meine Kleine Fabrik)

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