We never get tired of digging through the sci-fi archives, finding fascinating tidbits from the optimistic, golden age of space fiction from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s.

We’re enthralled by the audacity of the concepts. The sheer confidence and unbridled creativity of the inventions, which never came to pass. There’s something about retro-futurism that gets us excited.

Here’s a curated collection of some of our recent favorites, dating back as far as 100 years ago.

Illustration by Frank R. Paul, 1959

Frank R. Paul was a prolific illustrator, having created cover art for hundreds of comic books, magazines, and more.

Illustration by Frank R. Paul

Sleek, sculptural spaceships by Hubert Rogers.

Illustration by Hubert Rogers, 1940.
Illustration by Hubert Rogers, 1940.
Fabulous French illustrations by J. Polgreen from the 1950s.
Cover art by Howard V. Brown to Astounding Stories, September 1934

Some wildly colorful work from Japanese illustrator Shusei Nagaoka.

Illustration by Shusei Nagaoka.

Russian illustrator Andrei Sokolov was also prolific during the Soviet era.

Marvel at these fabulous retro futurism illustrations
Illustrations by Andrei Sokolov.
Illustration by Andrei Sokolov.
Illustration credited to Wallis Rigby, 1952.

As early as 1924 (100 years ago), artists were pondering what Martians looked like. Check out this amazing cover of Science and Invention from August 1924, illustrated by Howard V. Brown.

Illustration by Howard V. Brown, 1924.
Cover of Popular Mechanics, artist unknown.

Images curated through the massive collection found on Dark Roasted Blend.

Edited by Ben VanderVeen · About Moss & Fog

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Author

Ben VanderVeen is the founder and editor of Moss & Fog, one of the web’s longest-running visual culture destinations. Since 2009, he’s been finding and framing the most beautiful, surprising, and thought-provoking work in art, architecture, design, and nature — reaching over 325,000 readers each month. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

1 Comment

  1. Sue Ann Wallace

    lots of the futuristic photos had truth in them but the electronics, TV stereo, did not advance much at all.

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