Postcards from 19th-century illustrators depicting the future
About the Author: Stefan A.
This City Knows Management4-5 minutes9/16/2021
September 16, 2021Comments Off on Postcards from 19th-century illustrators depicting the future Views: 201Nostalgia, Postcards
A group of French illustrators took the task in 1899 to imagine what France would look like in the year 2000. Led by artist Jean-Marc Côté, the group produced a series of pictures known as “France in the Year 2000” or “En L’An 2000” (In the Year 2000).
The first batch of futuristic illustrations was released in 1899, and three more followed – in 1900, 1901, and 1910. Initially, the artsy work appeared in the form of cigarette box inserts, later as postcards.
The pictures reveal fantastic images of flying firemen, policemen, or tennis players. Automation is also commonly represented. People will clean their household with a machine, and women will apply makeup with a press of a button. Some of the images are eerie and bizarre. From hunting seagulls instead of fishes to diving on the back of a giant seahorse, the illustrators often demonstrated imagination rather than accuracy.
This collection of postcards functions as a visual time capsule of the day. Gender roles and fashion are intact and accurately represent the society of the early 1900s. Much of the machinery represented operates with common mechanical features of the early 20th-century, such as the levers, pulleys, and propellers. All of it indicates a limited vision of the future the artists had, anyways, it’s worth taking a look.