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Future Perfect: Vintage Futuristic Graphics
Images of the future envisioned through advertisements, illustrations, Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, and Science Illustrated magazine covers.
192 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 27, 2026
I ordered this book online and when it arrived I was surprised by how small its dimensions were. I had sort of assumed that a book showing design images would be in a large format. It could have done with being bigger but, never mind, it’s still a fun book.
This is almost entirely a picture book, containing magazine covers, adverts etc from the period of “techno-optimism” in the USA, which lasted from about the 1920s to the 1950s. There are a mere 3 pages of introductory text with the title “Futures that Never Arrived.” In the edition I had the text is printed in English, German and French. In addition, some of the images shown were adverts, that contained text.
Some of the futures shown did in fact arrive, for example video calls, imagined in here using devices considerably clunkier than the ones we use today. I suppose part of the problem is that things yet to be invented seem amazing, but we quickly come to regard them as normal after they are invented.
During my lifetime the media has relentlessly prophesised an impending apocalypse, and we are taught to regard the future with fear rather than with hope. It’s interesting to ponder why this was different in the mid-20th century. Perhaps it was simply that normal life was so awful then. After all there was the Great Depression followed by WW2. Perhaps people were consoled by the thought there might be a future without war and poverty. One of the later adverts featured is from the 1950s and gives a hint of the more pessimistic times to come with a slogan of “Houses for the Atomic Age,” which come with “protection from atomic blasts at minimum cost.”
Most of the visions haven’t come to pass though, and in many cases we probably wouldn’t want them to. One image of a future house promised “pre-molded plastic rooms.” (Oh Yaaay!)
The vast majority of the images feature transportation. It’s literally a case of “planes, trains and automobiles.” It’s striking how the vehicles of the future incorporated spherical shapes and rounded corners. The future was to be curved rather than angular.
Since the book is just pictures you can go through it easily and quickly. It’s pleasant to linger on some of the images though, and of course the reader can always go back to it.
The copy I bought was on sale for about £6.50, but I have seen other copies being offered at frankly ridiculous prices. I definitely would not recommend paying a lot of money for this book.
This is almost entirely a picture book, containing magazine covers, adverts etc from the period of “techno-optimism” in the USA, which lasted from about the 1920s to the 1950s. There are a mere 3 pages of introductory text with the title “Futures that Never Arrived.” In the edition I had the text is printed in English, German and French. In addition, some of the images shown were adverts, that contained text.
Some of the futures shown did in fact arrive, for example video calls, imagined in here using devices considerably clunkier than the ones we use today. I suppose part of the problem is that things yet to be invented seem amazing, but we quickly come to regard them as normal after they are invented.
During my lifetime the media has relentlessly prophesised an impending apocalypse, and we are taught to regard the future with fear rather than with hope. It’s interesting to ponder why this was different in the mid-20th century. Perhaps it was simply that normal life was so awful then. After all there was the Great Depression followed by WW2. Perhaps people were consoled by the thought there might be a future without war and poverty. One of the later adverts featured is from the 1950s and gives a hint of the more pessimistic times to come with a slogan of “Houses for the Atomic Age,” which come with “protection from atomic blasts at minimum cost.”
Most of the visions haven’t come to pass though, and in many cases we probably wouldn’t want them to. One image of a future house promised “pre-molded plastic rooms.” (Oh Yaaay!)
The vast majority of the images feature transportation. It’s literally a case of “planes, trains and automobiles.” It’s striking how the vehicles of the future incorporated spherical shapes and rounded corners. The future was to be curved rather than angular.
Since the book is just pictures you can go through it easily and quickly. It’s pleasant to linger on some of the images though, and of course the reader can always go back to it.
The copy I bought was on sale for about £6.50, but I have seen other copies being offered at frankly ridiculous prices. I definitely would not recommend paying a lot of money for this book.
January 13, 2026
This book proves that the 50s vision of the future wasn't just a cartoon—it was real. It mostly came from science magazines, which had these really cool but wild covers. The one thing I noticed is how absurdly symmetrical everything was. The designs weren't rigid but instead stuck with rounded features on the weirdest flying cars, helicopter boats, and bullet trains. It’s a specific vibe where everything looks like it is moving fast even when it is standing still.
The only thing that came true from that era were the trains and monorails. Those were actually successful because trains are the superior form of transportation. They are objectively easier to use, you don't have to worry about collisions as much, and they carry more people in general. The 50s might have been wrong about the flying cars, but they got the rail systems right.
I also noticed there was a weird emphasis on windows. I understand that they were trying to show what it was like inside these weird mechanisms of technology, but it kind of shows its age. You would never see that in modern design today, which is exactly why it’s so charming. I can't help but like this weird, wacky 50s futuristic style. It is just a vibe. I love the future.
5/5 Stars: Where The Jetsons Got Their Aesthetic
The only thing that came true from that era were the trains and monorails. Those were actually successful because trains are the superior form of transportation. They are objectively easier to use, you don't have to worry about collisions as much, and they carry more people in general. The 50s might have been wrong about the flying cars, but they got the rail systems right.
I also noticed there was a weird emphasis on windows. I understand that they were trying to show what it was like inside these weird mechanisms of technology, but it kind of shows its age. You would never see that in modern design today, which is exactly why it’s so charming. I can't help but like this weird, wacky 50s futuristic style. It is just a vibe. I love the future.
5/5 Stars: Where The Jetsons Got Their Aesthetic
August 8, 2019
Interesante y atractivo libro que nos lleva de viaje hasta un futuro que pudo ser, pero que nunca será. Un mundo art decó que en ocasiones se parece al nuestro, pero que ha quedado para siempre en la fantasía.
La labor de documentación y selección gráfica de Jim Heimann es estupenda, pero reconozco que el tomo sería mejor de contar con textos o artículos sobre lo que se está mostrando.
La labor de documentación y selección gráfica de Jim Heimann es estupenda, pero reconozco que el tomo sería mejor de contar con textos o artículos sobre lo que se está mostrando.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews