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Source 23.2: Imagining the Future of Technology

Early twentieth-century predictions about the future, at least in the West, focused heavily on technology. A fascinating example of this preoccupation comes from a series of postcards created in 1910 by the French artist Villemard, depicting his vision of life in Paris in the year 2000. Four of the many available images are shown here.

Questions to consider as you examine the sources:

What aspects of Parisian life does Villemard think will be transformed during the twentieth century? To what extent did his imaginative predictions come to pass?
To what extent, if at all, are the technological changes matched by changes in gender roles?
In what ways do these images reflect the sensibility of Watkins’s article in Source 23.1?

Source 23.2A

Air Battles and Air Freight in the Future

Air Battles and Air FreightFrench color lithograph ca. 1910/Private Collection/Archives Charmet/Bridgeman Images

Source 23.2B

The Horse as a Curiosity

The Horse as a CuriosityLate-19th-century French chromolithographic educational card/Private Collection/© Look and Learn/Bridgeman Images

Source 23.2C

The School of the Future

The School of the FutureFrench chromolithographic educational card, ca. 1910/Private Collection/©Look and Learn/Bridgeman Images

Source 23.2D

A Video-Telephone in the Year 2000

A Video-Telephone in the Year 2000Late-19th-century European chromolithographic educational card/Private Collection/© Look and Learn/Bridgeman Images