Nothing New Under The Sun

This article about solar power from the 1935 issue of Science & Mechanics, posted on Modern Mechanix, interests me for two reasons.  First, it again demonstrates that concepts many consider relatively contemporary have actually been around for a while.  The article discussing harnessing the sun's rays for power is from 1935, and it refers to an earlier work of fiction with the same concept from 1911.  The second point is that, unlike many of the advances science fiction promised us in the past (where is my flying car?), we are actually ahead of the curve on this one.  The 1911 novel, set in the year 2660, included a field of sun-power devices, rotating to face the sun.  While we have not put such an array in front of the Eiffel Tower as in the illustration, that technology exists today, a good 600 years ahead of predictions.