I can’t help but think that, were these mechanical cops to have been produced, they would have immediately been drafted into service by private entities. Indeed, the inset in the upper left of this illustration brings to my mind, not of the police sedating a mob — something that, along with “war purposes”, it is well suited for, according to the numerous mentions of each in the write-up — but of the private security forces of the Ford Motor Co., tearing through the picket lines of striking employees. The idea of, say, John Pierpont Morgan, his rhinophyma riddled visage contorted in murderous glee, controlling an army of unstoppable automatons, chills me to the bone. At the very least it would keep the machines from helping those in who are truly in need of robotic justice, like the young lady being harassed by this floating Rape-Bot. Maybe it’s just me, but I wonder just who was looking forward to the future of 1924.

Robocop 1924 [davidzondy.com] : Thanks, Melissa!

Mago de Oz and Robot, 1920 by Julian Totino Tedesco

Robot 1920 by Sebastiàn Giacobino

A collection of work by seven artists who post illustrations based on a particular, pre-arranged theme.

1 x semana [Artist Collective] : Super Punch

The sheet music for the verbosely titled “We Men Must Grow a Mustache: That’s One Thing the Girls Can’t Do!” which, one must assume, is a call to arms to curb the influx of faux follicular facial adornment that some females are fond of, a call that only the tinny twang of a ukulele can properly convey.

The denizens at Wikipedia seem to feel that it is representative of humor aimed at the general acceptance of homosexuality during the 1920s. Certainly the illustration plainly shows a homosexual, who are known for both their razor-sharp sideburns and for having the ability to bend their spines at painful and awkward right angles, a trait that scientists believe was developed so that they could reach the leaves on the uppermost branches of trees. Truly astounding creatures.

Sheet music for the song “We Men Must Grow A Mustache.” [Wikipedia] : Thanks, Anders!

Presented here, in its 104 minute entirety, is Häxan by Danish actor/director Benjamin Christensen. Part documentary and part horror movie, it has aged surprisingly well, the scenes of interrogation and witchcraft retaining their sinister air of dread. The film is unusual in many regards, not least of which is the manner it was shot, most of the filming having been done at night which was unheard of at the time. Interestingly, Christensen himself appears three times in the film, once at the beginning during the credits, but later he makes appearances as both Satan and Jesus.

Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922) [Stage6] : MONSTERBRAINS

[note from Eliza: I had to stick the video behind a cut so the DivX would stop fucking up my Firefox. Sorry Ross!]
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The city of the future was not always synonymous with shimmering pods set upon stilts: there was a time when architecture looked less to sci-fi to predict tomorrow’s cityscapes and more to the Tower of Babel. This is the look of Gotham: Biblical enormity, architecture that sets up the ideas of mankind — our dreams, our hopes, our designs — as the new gods, so much larger than our flesh that the individual is something smaller and less potent than an insect. A city of holy dread.

On the forefront of this very retro-futuristic city design was Hugh Fenriss, an architectural draftsman who made atmospheric chiaroscuros of the awesome cities he composed in his head. Clearly, his work was a major inspiration to the look of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. Read more about him here or check out this Flickr gallery for over 300 of his designs. We all live, in small part, in his world.

Hugh Fenriss [Flickr] : Quiddity : Feuilleton