Retronaut

 
Retronaut
The Photographic Time Machine
edited by Chris Wild

National Geographic

2014

 

 

Retronaut is a photo book of the blog-to-book variety, collecting Wild's favorite images from the first 4 years of retronaut dot com.

 
Wild's stated intention is to collect photos that in some way disrupt our image of the past. These include photos of prototype inventions that seem ahead of their time (like a two-disc crossfade phonograph), art that depicts predictions of the future, famous figure when they were young or doing something that clashes with how they are remembered today (like Martha Stewart as a fashion model), famous buildings and objects under construction, and a whole host of photos that create the appearance of anachronism or two different times meeting (like a woman in a cowgirl outfit tying her pony to a parking meter.)

 
It's a fun collection, and I often felt, as Wild hoped, an enjoyable frission between my mental image of some past time and the imagery in these photos.