Le Vingtième Siècle

First edition, illustrated with in-text and insert black and white drawings by Albert Robida.
Publisher's illustrated boards in full green glazed calico signed Engel, a large bichrome gilt heightened Souze illustration continuing onto the spine and the boards, wrappers preserved.
Some scattered foxing. Spine ends a little rubbed.
This book forms one of three components of Robida's science fiction work, with La Vie électrique and La Guerre au vingtième siècle.
It is in the context of the 1880s-1890s, strongly marked by “electromania,” that Albert Robida produces his science fiction series consisting of three volumes, Le Vingtième Siècle (1883),
La Guerre au vingtième siècle 1887) and La Vie électrique (1892). The universal and industrial exhibitions - particularly the 1881 exhibition introducing the era of electricity - flourish in metropolises that are undergoing great change; true emblems of a utopian world made better by the appearance of new technologies. Robida, who participated in the founding of
La Caricature magazine in 1880 and is already well established as an artist, takes to the pen with the idea of writing a dystopia, exaggerating the peculiarities of his era, using temporal extrapolation to caricature them. His novels take place between 1950 and 1970, thus he becomes one of the first masters of the science fiction genre.
“Robida a su le premier montrer un avenir où toutes les innovations techniques, aussi folles aient-elles pu apparaître à ses contemporains, sont parfaitement intégrées, et utilisées par tout le monde, naturelles en un mot, bref, une civilisation future. Sans avoir les connaissances et les aides scientifiques de Verne, en se fiant à sa fantaisie et à son intuition, il est le seul de tous les anticipateurs du 19ème siècle et du début du 20ème à avoir présenté par avance un tableau de notre présent qui ne soit pas trop éloigné de la réalité que nous vivons aujourd'hui...” “Robida was the fist to show a future where all the technical innovations, as crazy as they could appear to his contemporaries, are perfectly integrated, and used by everyone, natural, in short, a future civilization. Without having Verne's knowledge and scientific help, relying on his own imagination and his intuition, he is the only one of all of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century science fictionists to have presented, in advance, a picture of our present that is not too far removed from the reality that we live today...” (Pierre Versins, “Albert Robida” in Encyclopédie de l'utopie des voyages extraordinaires et de la science-fiction, 1972).
The journey through time in which Robida takes his reader emphasises the many advances made possible thanks to scientific progress and particularly the invention of electricity. The writer-artist gives life to an abundance of civil and military transport equipment: flying machines, tubes (very high speed trains that can travel up to 1400 km/h), under-water ocean liners, tanks, deep-sea divers, torpedo boats, etc. He pays particular attention to telecommunications and invents the “téléphonoscope,” the ancestor of both Skype and the continuous news channels. Robida remains critical when faced with the emergence of these communication methods that are quickly becoming ever-present and virtualise human relations: “« Les jeunes gens se font la cour grâce au téléphonoscope après s'être connus par agence matrimoniale.” “Young people are courting through the téléphonoscope after meeting through a marriage agency.” (Dominique Lacaze « Albert Robida maître de l'anticipation » in Revue des Deux Mondes, July-August 2015).
The massive emergence of new technologies promotes worldwide commercial and financial exchange; economic power surpasses political power and these new relationships inevitably give rise to new grounds for war.
The beautiful part is also in relation to the theme of nature and the control of climates and seasons: “Les rôles sont renversés, c'est à la Nature domptée aujourd'hui de se plier sous la volonté réfléchie de l'homme, qui sait la modifier à sa guise, suivant les nécessités, l'éternel roulement des saisons et, selon les besoins divers des contrées, donner à chaque région ce qu'elle demande, la portion de chaleur qu'il lui faut, la part de fraîcheur après laquelle elle soupire ou les ondées rafraîchissantes réclamées par un sol trop desséché ! L'homme ne veut plus grelotter sans nécessité ou cuire dans son jus inutilement.” “Roles are overturned, today the tamed Nature gives in to man's thoughtful will, man who knows how to make changes as he pleases, according to what is needed, the eternal rotation of seasons and, according to the different needs of the land, give each region what it asks for, the amount of heat it needs, the coolness after which it sighs or the refreshing showers demanded by the overly dried ground! Man no longer wants to shiver unnecessarily or futilely cook in his own juices.” (La Vie électrique). The food industry is, in turn, completely redesigned: natural products - that were transported all the same to residents via pipelines! - are replaced using chemistry to produce synthetic foods, even functional foods.
Aware of the devastating effects of the expansion of cities and the development of mass tourism, Robida already understands the need to create virgin areas, spared from all technology: “« Une loi d'intérêt social » a créé le parc national d'Armorique, formé des départements du Finistère et du Morbihan, qui doit rester à l'abri du progrès technique. Ici pas de téléphonoscope, pas de tube, ni même d'aérochalet. On circule en diligence et les touristes sont hébergés dans des auberges d'allure moyenâgeuse. Le parc est destiné à la préservation de la nature et surtout à la régénération des « surmenés de la vie électrique » qui viennent y faire des séjours réparateurs.” “'A law of social interest' has created the Armorique National Park, made up of the Finistère and Morbihan departments, which must be sheltered from technical progress. No téléphonoscope here, no tube, not even the aerochalet. We travel by stagecoach and tourists are housed in medieval-look hostels. The park is intended for the preservation of nature and especially the regeneration of the “overworked from the electric life” who go there for restorative breaks.” (Dominique Lacaze).
Far from focusing only on material modernisation, Robida is also interested in the social aspects of progressism. Not only does he abolish the death penalty at the beginning of the twentieth century, but he also banishes prisons and replaces them with retirement homes, in which residents rehabilitate themselves gently by giving themselves over to line fishing, gardening and billiards. During the “decennial vacation,” the people have the opportunity to engage in protest demonstrations taking place during the change of government, serving as an outlet for the population and ending with a big Republican banquet: “La révolution régulière est une soupape de sécurité qui supprime tout danger d'explosion...C'est une révolution sage, une révolution de santé pour ainsi dire !” “The regular revolution is a safety valve that removes any danger of explosion... It is a wise revolution, a health revolution so to speak!” (Le Vingtième Siècle).
However, the greatest revolution for Robida, is undoubtedly his concern for female emancipation; women have access to professional fields that were closed to them at the time the novels were written: the bank, the stock market, scientific research and even the army with female combat battalions. They enjoy the right to vote and can now hold important political positions, including access to deputation. A “radical feminine party” is even created in Le Vingtième Siècle: “Le parti féminin entend [...] couvrir seulement de ses éloges ceux qui, bravant d'antiques et vermoulus préjugés, ont pour conséquence de lever l'interdit séculaire jeté politiquement sur la femme !” “The feminine party intends [...] only to shower with praise those who, challenging old and antiquated prejudices, have politically thrown themselves at women to result in lifting the secular taboo!”
Copies with publisher's illustrated boards are rare and sought-after.