En L'An 2000: Motorized Roller Skates in the Park, c.1900 French Futurist Card

From the iconic French 'En L'An 2000' (In the Year 2000) postcard series, this chromolithograph envisions Parisians gliding through a public park on elaborate motorized roller skates outfitted with small engines, gears, and multi-wheeled platforms. Elegantly dressed couples in Belle Époque finery navigate the promenade at speed, one hapless gentleman already tumbling to the ground. The series, produced around 1900 for the Paris Exposition, remains one of history's most celebrated exercises in retro-futurist speculation.