In reading a recent Hacker News post "The year 2000 illustrated in 1900" (links to http://publicdomainreview.org/2012/06/30/france-in-the-year-...) I was reminded of the Brazilian Alberto Santos-Dumont, a flight pioneer who lived in Paris around 1900.

He was the only person to ever have lived the dream of personal unrestricted urban flight -- he'd fly his personal dirigible balloon all around Paris to visit friends, stop at restaurants and cafes. He was the real-life inspiration for much of what you see illustrated at http://publicdomainreview.org/2012/06/30/france-in-the-year-....

Here's a book I've been meaning to read about him: http://www.amazon.com/Wings-Madness-Alberto-Santos-Dumont-In....