Earlier quoted context omitted.
I didn't realize that the underwater thing was so important back then. We are all thinking about flying cars, and these drawings don't disappoint, but there is as much happening underwater as it is happening in the sky. Now, we are still fascinated with flying, machines, etc... but going underwater is boring by comparison. We have submarines, mostly for the military, a bit of scientific exploration, etc... but beside…
>> the underwater thing was so important back then. Because, unlike outer space, the deep ocean was a magical and alien dimension that existed only feet away from everyone's doorstep, and the technology for getting there was under rapid development. Jules Verne's 20,000 LUTS came out only twenty years previous to this article. The artist may well have read it as as child.
That the sea was not only accessible to a degree, but we also had hints of what was down there, would likely put that in the front of thinking minds as a problem solved in the near future, outer space being a bit less attractive of a mystery, since it was not obvious that resources could be gained from trying to go there.
I do often wonder what our current predictions of the future will look like five or six generations down the line. I'd like to think that we have a better grasp on problems that need solving or how technology will naturally combine to accomplish more work, but I bet the folks in the late 1800's thought they had a good grasp on that, too.
