Jean-Marc Côté's France In The Year 2000 Cigarette Cards (PICTURES)

Flying Postmen And Underwater Croquet: France In The Year 2000 – As Imagined In 1899

Underwater croquet matches, ‘Aero cabs’ and advanced chicken breeding machines: These were the visions of the future – back in 1899.

The fantastical images were produced by Jean-Marc Côté and a handful of other artists and printed on the cards traditionally found in cigarette and cigar boxes.

Issued in 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1910, the cards, most recently featured on The Public Domain Review, proved so popular they were also made into postcards.

Scroll down for more futuristic visions of the future

Water sports: Underwater croquet as predicted back in 1899. Sadly it has yet to be realised

Depicting how they imagined the world in the year 2000, the artists produced at least 87 cards among themselves, with the first series featuring in the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris.

Flying contraptions featured heavily, as did underwater lifestyles and robots who could clean, build and even cut hair.

We may have a way to go before we can saddle up a seahorse or fix wheels onto our houses and roll off into the sunset, but this version of the world sure looks fun.

France in the Year 2000

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