Imagining the Future--Part 1

Sheet Music, 1914 ( source)

In the 21st century, most portrayals of the future seem to be bleak and frightening images of a post-apocalyptic world. A few of the more optimistic predictions focus on travel to Mars and space exploration. But in the 19th and early to mid 20th century, people celebrated the wonder of new inventions, and were hopeful because of the rapid advances being made. Many people envisioned an exciting future here on earth, a Utopian, fanciful world created by of the wonders of science and technology. Anything seemed possible, and the future was exciting.

Electricity and Electric Appliances by Edward Carqueville (1892) (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Numerous works of art depicted these fantastic images and fueled the public imagination. Many of these images were made humorously, and weren't meant to be serious depictions of future life. But some were designed to show the way technology would change our daily lives, and make things easier and hopefully better.

A Night At the Opera In the Year 2000 by Albert Robida (1882) ( source)

From the Cover of Science and Invention (February 1921)

Illustration by Albert Levering From Puck Magazine (1905) (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Some of these imagined inventions have come to pass, at least in some form. For example, the picture below from 1928 depicts a television of the future. At that time, television was still in the experimental stage; t.v. sets would  not become widely available until after WW2, and color television would not be introduced until the mid 1960s. The woman is watching a large, color, flat-screen television. There appears to be some type of projector producing the picture.  She and the man on t.v. appear to be interacting with each other, much as we can do via computer today.

Radio Listeners' Guide- Fall 1928 (source)

The December 9, 1878 edition of the British humor magazine Punch included a cartoon illustration by George Du Maurier which showed a device, called the "Telephonoscope," which had supposedly been invented by Edison. Although this device was completely imaginary, this "electric camera-obscura" is considered to be an early prediction of both the television and the videophone. The caption below the image reads, in part: "Edison's Telephonoscope (transmits light as well as sound). Every evening, before going to bed, Pater and Materfamilias set up an electric camera-obscura over their bedroom mantel-piece, and gladden their eyes with the sight of their children at the Antipodes, and converse gaily with them through the wire."

source

Many other inventions, such as flying cars, have not become a reality. But it's interesting to take a look at these past visions of the 20th and 21st centuries! The illustration below is from a 1904 British children's book called The Motor Car Dumpy Book, which is a humorous look at the then recent invention, the automobile. The text that accompanies this image reads: "This is a motor air-ship. Some day we shall all have them."

 

From The Motor Car Dumpy Book (1904)

Flying cars, underwater scenes, and fabulous inventions are depicted in an intriguing series of French illustrations called "En L'An 2000 (In the Year 2000)" issued between 1899 and 1910. They were created by various French artists, and the first of these were issued for the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris. They appeared initially as paper cards attached to cigarette and cigar boxes, and later as postcards. There are at least 87 known cards, but they are very rare. I have posted images of some of the ones I found the most interesting below. Click on the following link to view images of all fifty of these cards that are displayed on Wikimedia Commons: Link 

Flying Vehicles

Underwater Scenes

Fabulous Inventions

The Home of the Future

Something Outdated in 2000--"A Curiosity"

Remembering Space Shuttle Challenger

Space Shuttle Challenger's First Launch 1983 (Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons source )

Thirty years ago today, on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members. The disaster was seen around the world on live t.v.. It was especially tragic because one of the people on board was New Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe, who had been selected from over 11,000 applicants to become the first Teacher In Space. She was supposed to conduct scientific experiments and teach two lessons while in orbit. Because of Mrs.McAuliffe being on board, many schools were watching the event live, and millions of children witnessed this shocking tragedy in real time.

Challenger Crew members are (left to right, front row) astronauts Michael J. Smith, Francis R. (Dick) Scobee and Ronald E. McNair; Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis and Judith A. Resnik.  (Photo by NASA) source

I was off from school that day (I think we had a snow day), but I wasn't watching the launch. Just after it happened, one of my friends called me in tears, and I turned on to see the shocking replays of this terrible event. The explosion of Challenger was one of those famous "Where were you when it happened?" moments, like the assassination of John F. Kennedy or September 11, 2001, when the nation and world came together in shock, disbelief, and collective mourning. For people like myself, born after John F. Kennedy's assassination, it was the first time we had experienced something like this, and although later world events would have more significance, this was a moment we would never forget.

Exhaust Trails-Challenger Explosion (Photo by NASA) source

That night, President Reagan postponed his scheduled State of the Union message, and spoke about the Challenger disaster as a tribute to the special men and women who died trying to reach for the stars. The link to the video of this memorable speech is below. For an in-depth overview of the Challenger disaster and subsequent investigation, please click on the following link to the excellent Wikipedia article on this subject, which includes multiple links to more information if you are interested.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster

Imagining the Future Part 1

Sheet Music, 1914 ( source)

In the 21st century, most visions of the future seem to be bleak and frightening images of a post-apocalyptic world. A few of the more optimistic predictions focus on travel to Mars and space exploration. But in the 19th and early to mid 20th century, people envisioned an exciting future here on earth, a Utopian, fanciful world created by of the wonders of science and technology. Many works of art depicted these fantastic images and fueled the public imagination. Many of these images were made humorously, and weren't meant to be serious depictions of future life. But some were designed to show the way technology would change our daily lives, and make things easier and better.

A Night At the Opera In the Year 2000 by Albert Robida (1882) ( source)

Some of these imagined inventions have come to pass, at least in some form. For example, the picture below from 1928 depicts a television of the future. At that time, television was still in the experimental stage; t.v. sets would  not become widely available until after WW2, and color television would not be introduced until the mid 1960s. The woman is watching a large, color, flat-screen television. There appears to be some type of projector producing the picture.  She and the man on t.v. appear to be interacting with each other, much as we can do via computer today.

Radio Listeners' Guide- Fall 1928 (source)

The December 9, 1878 edition of the British humor magazine Punch included a cartoon illustration by George Du Maurier which showed a device, called the "Telephonoscope," which had supposedly been invented by Edison. Although this device was completely imaginary, this "electric camera-obscura" is considered to be an early prediction of both the television and the videophone. The caption below the image reads, in part: "Edison's Telephonoscope (transmits light as well as sound). Every evening, before going to bed, Pater and Materfamilias set up an electric camera-obscura over their bedroom mantel-piece, and gladden their eyes with the sight of their children at the Antipodes, and converse gaily with them through the wire."

source

Many other inventions, such as flying cars, have not become a reality. But it's interesting to take a look at these past visions of the 20th and 21st centuries! The illustration below is from a 1904 British children's book called The Motor Car Dumpy Book, which is a humorous look at the then recent invention, the automobile. The text that accompanies this image reads: "This is a motor air-ship. Some day we shall all have them."

 

From The Motor Car Dumpy Book (1904)

Flying cars, underwater scenes, and fabulous inventions are depicted in an intriguing series of French illustrations called "En L'An 2000 (In the Year 2000)" issued between 1899 and 1910. They were created by various French artists, and the first of these were issued for the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris. They appeared initially as paper cards attached to cigarette and cigar boxes, and later as postcards. There are at least 87 known cards, but they are very rare. I have posted images of some of the ones I found the most interesting below. Click on the following link to view images of all fifty of these cards that are displayed on Wikimedia Commons: Link 

Flying Vehicles

Underwater Scenes

Fabulous Inventions

The Home of the Future

Something Outdated in 2000--"A Curiosity"