One letter from New York to France could take multiple weeks to arrive. A journey across the Atlantic Ocean was long and dangerous. A trip across the country was made much shorter from a 6-month trip on the Oregon trail, to a 4-day journey on the Transcontinental railroad. The journey still had its dangers though
Turn of the Century Travel
Before cars or planes were invented, it was harder to travel fast. People had three options: a ferry or ship, a carriage or horse, and lastly, a train. People were used to travel taking a long time before there were modern inventions like cars or planes. Because it took so long to travel, mail took long to arrive.
Travel Times
"Mail Boat Unloading in New York Harbor, 1898, National Post Museum"
"SS GENERAL Y PESQUEIRA Mexican Ocean Liner off Guaymas, Mexico, 1914, Naval History and Heritage Command"
"Chinese Laborers workingon the Transcontinenal Railroad, 1870, History.com"
The First Airship
Concept self sustaining Ctiy in the Sky, Painted in 1803, National Air and Space Museum
An airship is a lighter than air flying machine. The airship allowed the first real movable access to the sky. People would struggle for decades afterward on how to navigate the airship in even the smallest amounts of wind. After the airship evolved, it became clear that the slow and bulky machine was not the future of air travel, so people agreed that they needed something better.
Side view of Henri Giffard flying the first steam powered airship, painted in 1852, National Air and Space Museum