People spot a man 'using iPhone' in a 1937 painting and some are convinced about time travel

The debate about time travel has, ironically, not been hinged on only the future. Lately, the internet has excavated and skimmed through a lot many old paintings and vintage photos looking for clues of time travel. In a resurfaced painting from 1937, conspiracy theorists have now suspected that a Native American man is using an “iPhone” while amidst a bunch of colonial settlers. Conversations have sprung up on social media platforms like Reddit and X, with people trying to decipher the nature of the object in the man’s hand. 

The interesting depiction of the development of Springfield, Massachusetts, founded by colonist and founder William Pynchon, is called Mr. Pynchon and the Settling of Springfield. It was painted by the Italian artist Umberto Romano as one of the four mural panels that depict his retelling of New England history, per VICE. The painting shows the Native American glaring into a rectangular object with a surprised look, wearing traditional attire, while a tied-up man in front of him looks seemingly at him. Meanwhile, colonist Pynchon, dressed in a pink suit, stands among other people and the developing cityscape. Of all the intriguing elements from the painting, what caught most people's attention was the out-of-place object. 

A now-deleted user shared the painting on Reddit (r/AlternativeHistory) and captioned, “Mr. Pynchon and the Settling of Springfield 1937 shows what looks like a smartphone being held.” “It does. Including the look on the guy's face, like he just saw his most recent post got downvoted into oblivion!” wrote a person (u/soraboutit) while u/StonedEcho responded, “Looks like they are going through the tied up guy's browser history. Thinking, ‘Maybe we should untie him, he seems to be into this kinda thing.’” A particular insight by u/MrFancyForWomen read, “All these guys caught a time traveler. The guy that’s tied up has a modern military haircut and maybe green military pants. Doesn’t match any of the other people. And they’re inspecting his phone. Or maybe not. Who’s to say?” 

People agreed and seemed convinced by their analysis. “Stone tablet? All we can really say is it's rectangular,” debated a person (u/gerkletoss), and another (u/yodavesnothereman) guessed, “Probably meant to be a hand mirror.” Someone else (u/Kafke) said, “I'm laughing hard at this answer. Because every time someone points out some 'modern technology' in like an old painting or something, it's always a mirror.” Even has the 3 cameras. iPhone 12 Pro Max,” u/deeeezzzzznuts theorized. “Nah, if it was a smartphone, they'd all be staring at them,” mused u/effinbrak2. A similar discussion ensued under an X post shared by @Motherboard.

To put the debate to an end, VICE pulled their strings and contacted historian Daniel Crown, also a New York City-based writer, who crafted an essay on William Pynchon himself. Since artist Romano died in 1982, there was no other way of collecting information on the object. “To put it in the kindliest possible terms, Romano’s so-called ‘abstract’ aesthetic was willfully ambiguous,” Crown said over email, suggesting that it could likely be a hand mirror. The painting depicted a modern time in Springfield, with “Pynchon’s treasure trove of shiny objects.”