Published circa 1902, this futuristic vignette depicts the skies of Paris teeming with flying machines. Different styles are shown, some functioning as buses, limousines, and single-passenger craft. Curiously, they seem to be modeled on fish rather than birds.
The illustrator, Albert Robida, published a trilogy of science fiction novels titled Le Vingtième Siècle (1883), La Guerre au vingtième siècle (1887), and Le Vingtième siècle. La vie électrique (1890). They anticipated the widespread use of the telephone (“phonographe”) and television (“téléphonoscope”), modern warfare with submarines, guided missiles and poison gas, as well as the emancipation of women and other social developments. He founded the magazine La Caricature with George Decaux, serving as its editor from 1880-1892.
