A collection of 87 colorful paintings from 1899, found by chance, astonishingly predicted many of today's scientific inventions.

According to a report by Dailymail, these prophetic illustrations were accidentally discovered in a cardboard box at Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire, England. They are part of a collection titled En L’An 2000 (In the Year 2000). Published in 1899, the illustrations were originally created for cigar or cigarette boxes but were later printed as postcards due to their popularity.

The collection features images depicting people playing croquet underwater with advanced breathing equipment, whales carrying humans deep beneath the sea, winged firefighters extinguishing fires from the air, fish racing, and air taxis flying across cities.

Interestingly, alongside humorous ideas, some illustrations accurately predicted scientific advancements and inventions, such as helicopters. In reality, the first helicopter wasn’t operational until 1939, a full 40 years after these illustrations were created.

One illustration envisioned life in the future, showcasing technology being applied in ways that stretched the imagination. For example, the concept of video calls resembling Skype or FaceTime appeared more than a century ago.

Another postcard depicted a body-scanning machine that automatically printed clothes on demand. This concept is gradually becoming a reality with the development of 3D scanning systems. Amazon has even patented technology for on-the-spot clothing production.

In 1910, commercial flights were still a dream, yet the postcards envisioned an airborne firefighting force. Today, drones are used to monitor wildfires.

The past also predicted people listening to news from the comfort of their homes, alongside futuristic forms of entertainment like electric roller skates—a concept that has become a reality. Visions of home automation were also present, with one image showing a device resembling a dishwasher. Today, robots capable of styling hair for humans are a reality.

Jim Spencer, an employee at Hansons Auctioneers, expressed his amazement upon discovering these vivid prints with their surreal vision of the future. He added: “I was even more astonished when I began researching them and realized how rare they are.”

According to Spencer, the collection he found included multiple individual designs, printed in color on eight uncut sheets. The En L’An 2000 illustrations were created by French artists, including Jean-Marc Côté, to showcase at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Initially intended for cigar or cigarette box covers, the project was canceled due to financial difficulties. Later, additional designs were added, bringing the total to 87 illustrations, which were printed as postcards but never released.

The collection was forgotten until the 1980s when science fiction writer Isaac Asimov stumbled upon a set of postcards and featured them in his book Futuredays: A Nineteenth Century Vision of the Year 2000.

The En L’An 2000 collection was auctioned at Hansons’ Library Auction (Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge, Staffordshire) on July 31, 2019. Experts consider the collection extremely rare and believe this might be the first time an original set has been put up for sale.