Intriguing Illustrations from 1899 Show What People of the Past Thought the Year 2000 Would Look Like

Author image for Ely Bulnes
Ely Bulnes • Writer and Editor
May 13, 2025 11:00 PM EDT

What do you imagine the world will look like in 100 years? Contemporary movies and TV shows will likely influence your vision of the future. Thanks to sci-fi and cyberpunk classics like Bladerunner, Akira, and The Matrix, anyone in the modern day might imagine the future to dominated by artificial intelligence and filled with grimy and neon cityscapes. That might not actually be too far off from what the future holds, honestly. However, it's hard to imagine anything different that deviates from the pop culture vision. 

In these illustrations below by Jean-Marc Côté, we see what people from the year 1899 imagined the year 2000 would look like. It's fascinating stuff; while they certainly guessed much of the tech that exists in the modern world, the illustrations could never have predicted the fashions or aesthetics of this age. Furthermore, there are some things nowadays that they never would have been able to even imagine– such as computers, the concept of AI, or soft contact lenses.

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  • 01

    At School

    A l'Ecole. EN LAN 2000
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 02

    Dictating his mail

    EN LAN 2000 Dictant son Courrier.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 03

    Radium heating

    EN LAN 2000 Chauffage au Radium.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 04

    A modern Tailor

    Un Tailleur dernier Genre. EN LAN 2000
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 05

    Long-distance aeronautics

    EN LAN 2000 Aéronat au long Cours.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 06

    A Game of underwater Croquet (why though?)

    EN LAN 2000 Une Partie de Croquet.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 07

    On board a submarine liner

    A bord d'un Paquebot sous-marin. EN LAN 2000
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 08

    A Hydroplane

    EN LAN 2000 Un Hydroplane.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 09

    An Oceanian Landscape

    Un Paysage océanien. EN LAN
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 10

    Ok, what's with living underwater?

    Un Attelage étrange. LAN 2000
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 11

    Underwater Yachting

    EN L'AN 2000 Le Yachting sous-marin.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 12

    A Whale Bus

    EN LAN 2000 Un Baleinobus.
    via The Public Domain Review

  • It is really fascinating to me that people of the past – or at least this illutrator – thought that we future humans would be spending so much time hanging out under the sea. Despite all technological advances, our own oceans remain quite mysterious due to their sheer size as well as the complexities of moving in water and dealing with water pressure.

  • 13

    Opera Avenue

    EN LAN 2000 L'Avenue de l'Opéra. EA
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 14

    Electrical Construction Site

    ARCHITECTE 600 Chantier de Construction électrique. EN L'AN 2000
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 15

    Advanced Helicopter Sentry

    Sentinelle avancée en Hélicoptère. EN L'AN 2000
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 16

    The Flying Fire Brigade

    EN LAN 2000 Les Pompiers aériens. CELIC
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 17

    The Paris-Beijing electric train

    EN LAN 2000 Le Train électrique Paris-Pékin.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 18

    Auto-Skates

    Auto-Patins à Roues. EN L'AN 2000 D
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 19

    The Barber's New Machine

    Le Barbier nouveau Jeu. EN LAN 2000
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 20

    Cinema-Phono-Telegraphic Correspondence

    EN LAN 2000 Correspondance Cinéma-Phono-Télégraphique.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 21

    Cycling Scouts

    EN LAN 2000 Éclaireurs Cyclistes.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 22

    A very busy farmer

    EN L'AN 2000 Un Agriculteur très occupé.
    via The Public Domain Review

  • While the aesthetics of the technology aren't quite right, the people of the past were right in that we would want to move towards automation.

  • 23

    Madam at her Toilet

    EN LAN 2000 Madame à sa Toilette.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 24

    Flying deliveries

    EN LAN 2000 Le Facteur Rural.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 25

    Flying cars

    AERO-CARS ASCENSEURS EN LAN 2000/ Station d'Aéro-Cabs. 4
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 26

    Automatic orchestra

    EN LAN 2000. Un Orchestre docile.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 27

    The Hunt for Microbes

    EN LAN 2000 La Chasse aux Microbes.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 28

    Flying Tennis

    Le Lawn-Tennis. EN LAN 2000
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 29

    A Holiday Home on Wheels

    EN LAN 2000 VILLA BEAUSEJOUR Une Maison roulante de Villégiature.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 30

    An electric scrubber

    EN L'AN 2000 Un Frotteur électrique.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 31

    Intensive breeding

    EN LAN 2000 Élevage intensif.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 32

    An Astronomer

    Un Astronome.
    via The Public Domain Review
  • 33

    Future Bakery

    EN LAN 2000
    via The Public Domain Review

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Tags

throwback old school art retro the internets future tech creative artist cursed images 1800s future imagination illustration vintage the future Vintage Tech history Historical
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