Rare & Beautiful Vintage Visions of the Future

Soviet and Eastern Bloc "popular tech & science" magazines, German, Italian, British fantastic illustrations and promotional literature - all from the Golden Age of Retro-Future (from 1930s to 1970s).


(source: TM-1970, Russia)


("Galactic Manoeuvre", by Nikolai Nedbailo)


(source: TM-1953, Russia)


(source: TM-1956, Russia)


(image credit: retro-futurismus.de)


Space never looked better... and perhaps never will

Retro-futuristic art, in a way, can be called a double-fantasy: imaginary future wrapped in imaginary past. Which makes this style doubly interesting, if not doubly obsolete... In this part we will showcase rarely seen art, done in 1930s to 1970s, mostly from "Teknika Molodezhi" (TM), "Yuny Tekhnik", "DetGiz" (Russia) and German retro-future sites.

Earth's Orbit:


(TM cover, Russia, 1950)




(images credit: Klaus Burgle)


"Breaking a Space Traffic Jam" by Frank Tinsley, 1959 (image via Plan59)

To the Moon!


(art by Noel Sickles for the "Rocket to the Moon", 1949)


"To Other Worlds!", Detgiz, Russia, 1939


"Lunar Unicycle" by Frank Tinsley, 1959 (image via Plan59)


(image credit: Klaus Burgle)


(TM cover, Russia 1953)


(source: TM, Russia)


"Nuclear Rocketship" by Frank Tinsley, 1959 (image via Plan59)


"Destination Moon" rare art, 1950
(image credit: Erik Theodor Lässig, Germany)

Bigger Moon base:


(source: TM, Russia)


(original unknown)


(images credit: Kurt Röschl, right - art by Ed Emshwiller)

To Mars!


(TM cover, Russia 1966; right - art by Andrey Sokolov)


"Mars Snooper" by Frank Tinsley, 1959 (image via Plan59)

To Venus!

Battling off the Communist astronaut invasion!


(Perry Rhodan, Jan. 1962)

Interesting Planetary Vehicle: very strange flip-flop caterpillar style of moving -


(source: TM, Russia 1966)

To Saturn and Beyond:


(TM cover, Russia 1954)

Other Worlds

Screens from the Russian science fiction movie "Planeta Bur" (The Planet of Storms) - 1959:


(images via woodmal)

This is a collage made from various promotional art from this movie, created by Vladimir:


(image credit: o-vladimir)


(image credit: Klaus Burgle)


(art by Andrey Sokolov)






(art by Nikolai Nedbailo)


("First Contact", by Nikolai Nedbailo)

Space Lift Concept:


(source: TM, Russia 1970)

Detailed Chart of Starships:


(source: TM, Russia 1955)

Socialist Space Workers by Gennady Golobokov, 1973 -


(source: TM, Russia 1973)

Photon Starships in Deep Space:


(art by Andrey Sokolov)