Albert Robida's Flying House — La Vie Électrique Aerial Dwelling, c.1890
From Albert Robida's visionary French proto-science-fiction series, likely 'La Vie Électrique' (1890) or 'Le Vingtième Siècle,' this intricate pen-and-ink drawing depicts a fantastical multi-story aerial dwelling suspended above rooftops by a massive mechanical column and rotating disk mechanism. Residents lounge on wraparound balconies, a figure fires a pistol skyward, kites and small flying contraptions drift past, and ornate Victorian turrets crown the structure. Industrial smokestacks below contrast with the whimsical domesticity above — quintessential Robida retrofuturism.
This illustration sits closer to an exploding space station than a quiet library — a densely packed, gloriously chaotic vision of domestic life defying gravity via Victorian gearwork. The sheer density of incident, mechanical invention, and whimsical detail pushes it firmly into peak retro-futurist spectacle.
“Largeur”
