What did the Victorians Think the Future Would be Like?

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Well, folks, here we are in the 19th century, and the Victorians are quite excited about the future. Think of it like today, but without smartphones to distract them from their anxieties—flying cars, robot barbers, and cities in the sky. If you thought our visions of the future were wild, the Victorians had us beat with their optimistic ideas. They were deeply immersed in the Industrial Revolution, which made them enthusiastic about technology’s potential to transform society into a utopian dream. But don’t be fooled; their optimism also carried a hint of dread, reminding us that every silver lining has a dark cloud nearby.

Enter the “Inon 2000” postcards—a fascinating series of Victorian dreams masquerading as predictions. These postcards were the equivalent of today’s sci-fi films: wildly imaginative, thoroughly entertaining, and just a little bit eccentric. The Victorians had this charming belief that in the future, technology would handle the heavy lifting while humans remained in control. They could envision a machine that could fly but struggled to imagine that this same machine might not need a pilot.

Take the rural postman, for example. Here we see a postman on a winged bicycle, pedaling furiously across the sky to deliver letters. The Victorians couldn’t envision a world where a drone could do this job without human effort. Machines were meant to serve, not think, and definitely not take over the jobs that gave humans their sense of purpose.

Then there’s the electric scrubbing machine, a contraption that sounds like something from a whimsical design. It’s meant to make house cleaning easier, but it still requires a maid to steer it around the room. The idea of a house that cleans itself seemed too far-fetched. Better to imagine a souped-up broomstick that still needs human guidance.

And let’s not forget the newfangled barber, where a man stands at a control panel like a mad scientist, operating a multi-arm device that shaves and trims a line of gentlemen all at once. It’s as if they thought the future would be a place where efficiency meant processing people like sausages with mechanical arms. Again, the human element remained crucial; a robot with a razor was just a bit too far-fetched.

How about this one, where students electronically absorb knowledge through peculiar contraptions? Who needs an iPad when you can zap textbooks straight into your mind? In all these wild imaginings, the human element stays front and center. The machines are extensions of human operators, not replacements. It’s as if the Victorians were saying, “Sure, machines are cool, but let’s not get carried away; we still need humans to make this work.” The future was a playground for human ingenuity, with machines as shiny new toys, not overlords.

If you think the postcards were strange, wait until you meet William Heath. This guy took the Victorian fascination with technology and cranked it up to eleven. His “March of Intellect” series from the 1820s is like a steampunk fever dream, where steam-powered horses drag people around, and the skies are filled with flying contraptions. Heath imagined a world where even traveling halfway around the globe was just a matter of being sent through a giant vacuum tube.

Heath’s work, though steeped in satire, reflected the Victorian obsession with progress. His steam-powered creations and balloon-filled skies were exaggerations, but they also acknowledged the excitement and anxiety surrounding technological advancements. In Heath’s view, the future was a place where machines could do incredible things, but also where humans were at the mercy of their own inventions.

Now, let’s take a detour to France, where Albert Robida sketched his visions of the future. Unlike the British with their steam-powered inventions, Robida had his head in the clouds—literally. His drawings depicted a Paris filled with airships zipping around like bees over a honeycomb. In Robida’s world, the future was not just about efficiency; it was about elevating life to new heights.

Take his illustration of an exit from the opera in the year 2000, for instance. In Robida’s imagination, airships serve as buses, limousines, and even police stations. There was a future where life was lived among the clouds, transcending the limitations of the ground beneath their feet. Robida’s visions were grand, filled with floating wonders and the promise of a society that had risen above earthly constraints.

Let’s bring this down to earth in Hyde Park in 1851, where the Brits hosted the Great Exhibition in the Crystal Palace—a massive greenhouse made of glass and iron. It was a showcase of what could be achieved when not preoccupied with the end of the world. There were steam engines powerful enough to run entire factories, mechanical looms producing fabric at astonishing speeds, and early telegraphs making the world feel smaller.

But the Great Exhibition was as much about progress as it was about uncertainty. The Victorians lived in a time when science seemed poised to upend everything they thought they knew. The Crystal Palace symbolized that uncertainty—a glass wall representing a future that could be amazing or horrifying, or both.

By the end of the 19th century, the Victorians were enamored with electricity, envisioning a future where everything could be better, faster, and more electrifying. In 1889, the Marquess of Soubry expressed joy over how decentralization through electric power would allow people to work from home instead of being crammed into factories. Technology was seen as a means of liberation rather than enslavement.

However, these ideas weren’t universally accepted, and many viewed them with skepticism. Punch, a satirical magazine from that era, had a field day imagining what life might look like in an electrical world. The Victorian era was characterized by a forward-looking mindset, but it wasn’t all optimism. While some dreamed of progress, others feared it would lead to disaster.

The Victorians were self-aware. As their empire expanded, they grew increasingly paranoid about its inevitable decline. They lived in a beautiful mansion but could hear the foundation cracking beneath them. Ancient ruins became a source of inspiration for artists and intellectuals, serving as reminders that empires fall and even the mightiest may tremble before the void.

Take John Martin, for example. His famous painting, “The Deluge,” depicts a catastrophic flood destroying everything in its path. In this work, no one knows how to swim, and everyone appears horrified or defeated. Martin’s art tapped into a distinctly British fear of losing everything they had worked for.

Alfred William Hunt expressed similar sentiments in his painting “Study for Tinmouth Pier.” In this piece, two figures struggle against the elements, trying to keep their candles lit amid a raging storm. The real subject here is not the men but the indifferent natural world surrounding them, highlighting a sense of impending doom.

This sense of dread wasn’t limited to visual art; it permeated Victorian literature as well. Novelists began writing stories set in dystopian futures where progress led to regression. The ghost of ancient ruins served as a constant reminder that empires can fall.

Now, let’s talk about today’s tech titans, like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who present themselves as the saviors of humanity. Their ventures often seem like spectacles, asserting control in a modern echo of the Victorian belief that the future belongs to those who can harness technology. The Victorians believed there was a strong link between personal virtue and technological agency. They thought that if you were disciplined and moral, you could usher in a utopia.

Inventors were seen as architects of the future, and their virtues were believed to lead society there. This notion, while quaint, remains a powerful paradigm that influences us today.

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