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Image title: "The Mouchot Apparatus" Extract, from page 180 of the book, frame 192 of the pdf: They proceeded towards those large cones which the photographer had pointed out. They shone in the sun like beacons, and some of the reflections were so strong as to be borne with difficulty by the eye. There were three similar apparatus in a row. "I introduce to you the solar apparatus of Messrs. Mouchot and Pifre," said Cornillé. "For what do they serve?" asked Miss Nelly. "To boil water in a boiler. With this boiling water a steam engine can be put in motion." "I was in Paris," said Cahuzac, "on the day when Monsieur Pifre set up one of these apparatus in the gardens of the Tuileries. The boiler served to feed a small steam-engine, which in turn set a small Marinoni press in motion. The press worked regularly from one o'clock to five o'clock in the evening." "I have seen these interesting experiments myself," resumed the engineer. "Here, with the sun of Mesopotamia, we shall arrive at much better results." "What advantages do you think will be drawn one day from these apparatus, more improved?" asked Laycock. "When coal shall be wanting, will it be possible to replace it by the Mouchot apparatus?"

Mouchot and his apparatus did in fact indeed exist. See: Mouchout, Auguste, from the Energy Library. Augustin Mouchot, from Wikipedia.

Modern skulls - "the Fellahs"? Nice sense of humor for 19th century