Out of Time: Designs for the Twentieth-Century Future [Paperback]

Norman Brosterman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2000

Flying cities, Martian colonies, spaceships, robots, monorails, bubble-topped cars, atomic explosions. . . . These have all appeared in both artistic renderings of the future for pulp magazines & as serious architectural proposals. In the 20th century, high & low, fact & fiction mixed in ways that are now impossible to separate. Design references for the future were drawn from engineering, science fiction, avant-garde architecture, pulp fiction & mechanix magazines, aerodynamics, & the 1939 New York World's Fair. And many of these ideas have actually come to pass. This wonderful book is a collection of illustration art from the past century, portraying the indefatigable gee whiz of the imagined future.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810929392
• ISBN-13: 978-0810929395
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #402,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Out of Time: Designs for the Twentieth-Century Future, November 10, 2000

By 

"aharlib" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of Time: Designs for the Twentieth-Century Future (Paperback)

[e-mail] 'Out of Time: Designs for the Twentieth Century Future' by Norman Brosterman is a glossy 8 X 10" trade paperback which gathers together numerous, rather fascinating and fun images of what has now become standard, even cliched concepts of the future: flying, domed cities; bubble-topped cars; humanoid robots; monorails; rocket ships, etc.---the output of talented American dsigners, artists and illustrators who, in the period covering the 1890s to the mid-1960s, focused their imaginations on rendering 'things to come'. 'Out of Time', utterly enjoyable as a book in its own right, also serves as the catalog of a Smithsonian Institute sponsored 3 year traveling exhibition also curated by author Norman Brosterman, a NY-based writer, architect, artist, and

collector of modern cultural artifacts whose own possessions comprised a considerable proportion of the contents celebrated herein. Interest in this volume is vastly increased due to the fact that few of the orignal water colors, oil paintings aand pen-and-ink drawings which took Brosterman years to track down have ever been displayed for the public before.

Essentially, 'Out of Time' is a wonderful nostalgia trip for those who grew up relishing the old pulp magazines, popular technology periodicals and promotions for the 1939 NY World's Fair. It will be a revelation for later generations who are curious about the work of the "inveterate technodreamers" who imagined an alternative 20th century with visions that had an impact and influence on the real world---in industrial and automotive design, fashion, warfare, the exploration of space, and the arts---that was widespread albeit hardly recognized at the time.

'Out of Time' is not only filled with illustrations (many in full color), but offers substantial text giving the historical context for the visual archeology of industrial, architectural and fanciful design for the world to come. Sections of the book are devoted to: the future as history, as visualized in illustrations for science fiction stories; and the future as style as depicted in architectural designs, renderings of transportation of all types (especially flying machines and space vehicles) and conceptions of

robots. An appendix is also included of brief biographical sketches of the artists whose work can be found in the book---most notably: Frank R. Paul, Alex Schomburg, Alexander Leydenfrost, Cheslay Bonestell, Virgil Finlay and Hannes Bok. There is also a bibliography. Thus we have a book---text and images---that has a cumulative effect of gee-whiz, gosh-wow exuberance. 'Out of Time; is a treasure trove that documents the optimistic imaginations of the writers, designers, architects

and engineers who envisioned the future as if it were already there---making it the perfect gift for science-fiction afficionados, especially those that love illustrations of yesterday's tomorrows, visions that can be---corny, extravagant, misguided, wild, impractical, awesome, quaint or even dead-on accurate. 'Out of Time' should not be out of place on many bookshelves.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Where's the rest of the book?!, January 12, 2002

By 

Huntan Peck "HuntanPeck" (Retroville, USA, Circa 1967) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of Time: Designs for the Twentieth-Century Future (Paperback)

This was my first reaction upon opening the parcel containing this book. Truly, it is a wonderful book; chock full of colourful illustrations and lively text. As such, it is a keeper.
Alas, it simply isn't enough! At 96 pages it is barely longer than a two part magazine article.
Where, for example, are the futuristic designs for the 1939 World's Fair? Or the 1962 World's Fair? Or the 1964 World's Fair?
Where are the designs for seminal 50's sci-fi movies like 'Forbidden Planet'?
Where are the concept drawings for Disneyland's Tomorrowland and Epcot Center?
Where are the space age clothing designs of Rudi Gernreich? Where are'The Jetsons'for crying out loud?
Wherever they are, they are not to be found in the pages of this book. Never has a book created within me such a mixture of delight and colossal disappointment.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to the FUTURE!, December 19, 2003

By 

Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Out of Time: Designs for the Twentieth-Century Future (Paperback)

This ia a great book, for science fiction fans or just people interested in future forecasting of the 20th century. The book deals with the ideas, serious or not, of what past artists, scientists and writers thought the future would look like. Cities, cars, airships, rockets, monorails fill the pages of this book, with text which guides you on your tour of the 'future'. Some designs like the floating airports, the car/boat and the monorail HAVE changed reality (for some of us),while other ideas, like the six mile high tower, are not yet available.
My problem, my ONLY problem, with the book is how small it is. At 96 pages it barely covers anything. The chapter on robots is only TWO pages long and only has TWO illustrations. I noticed only ONE underwater city and some drawings, like a few pages on the 'Future City' have no text at all.
Still, it is a great gift for sci-fi fans, future engineers or fans of the cartoon series "Futurama".