These Illustrations of Ventilation from 1896 (found in full at the Internet Archive) are meant to show us how air can move through different rooms. The illustrations are dreamy, though, and stand on their own as art pieces, even without their scientific context. I love the shade of pink used to highlight the air movement, and how it creates a surreal atmosphere.
My favorite illustration is the last one where two people are asleep in a bed. The air particles spiral outwards around them. I like how the bed looks like a big cartoon face with two googly-eyes, where the people's heads rest on the pillows.
From the Public Domain Review: "Illustrations showing movement of air through various rooms, from Lectures on Ventilation (1869) by Lewis W. Leeds."
See also: Art in the age of artifice
