In 1899, Jean-Marc Côté, a French commercial artist, was commissioned to create illustrations for a series of cigarette cards to coincide with celebrations held throughout France to mark the turn of the century. But before the cards could spread, the company that ordered them went bankrupt, leaving behind only one complete set of cards. Fifty of them, whimsically depicting life in the year 2000, are reproduced here in full color, with lively commentary and analysis by the twentieth century's most respected futurist, Isaac Asimov. In his fascinating discussion of futurism, which serves as the introduction to this book, Isaac Asimov writes: “Desire to know our individual destinies over the centuries was connected with our desire to predict what will happen to humanity as a whole, to comprehend in all its complexity the grandiose course of history.” In The Thing to Come, artists' imaginations tackle the uncertainties of the future with delightful, funny, and surprisingly accurate results.