Our Futuristic Collection of Images

The Battle of the Balloons

The Battle of the Balloons. A fanciful image depicting four balloons with flags and sails, their passengers in close aerial combat. The opponents appear to be British and French.
circa 18th century

© The Royal Aeronautical Society (National Aerospace Library)/Mary Evans

Aerial, Air, Artillery, Balloon, Ballooning, Battle, British, Cannon, Canon, Combat, Early, Fanciful, Fire, Firing, Flight, French, Future, Futuristic, Gondola, Gun, Guns, Opponents, Passengers, Rifle, Rifles, Sails, Smoke, Transport, Transportation, War, Warfare, Weapon, Weapons

New York World's Fair, Bird's Eye view Trylon and Perisphere

New York World's Fair - Bird's Eye view of the Trylon and the Perisphere, showing the Administration Building in the left background, Hall of Fashions in the right background and the Communications Building in the centre. Date: 1939

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection

1930s, 1930s, 1939, 30s, Administration, Aerial, Architectural, Architecture, Ball, Birds, Building, Communications, Eye, Fair, Fashion, Futuristic, Hall, New, Overview, Panorama, Panoramic, Perisphere, Spike, Thirties, Trylon, View, Worlds, York

Warfare in the future - as predicted in 1932

An impression of what warfare might look like in 2032, as predicted by The Modern Boy magazine in 1932. It suggests that invading troops might attack via a shell, with bumpers to save the shock of landing. The accompanying caption also advises, 'The men will have to be strapped up in special spherical tanks inside the shells so that they will remain upright however much the shell twists about during its journey through the atmosphere. As shells usually become red-hot owing to the speed they travel, the fellows inside will also need a bit of ice-cream with 'em to prevent them from frizzling like bacon in a pan!' It concludes by saying, 'We certainly all ought to be glad this is only a forecast - at present.' Date: 1932

© Mary Evans Picture Library