Among the seminal works in social sciences in France, that of Gabriel Tarde occupies a unique position. Fragment d’histoire future, published in 1896, is an anticipation essay which combines seriousness and fantasy in order to explain the author’s conception of the “pure” social link. In this paper we explore three major subjects which are central to the essay: urban life, production and love. Moreover, we have tried to contextualize Tarde’s speficic stance among other significant works of 19th century social thinking.