I can understand your frustration but one has to consider that there were no photographers at that time for a more proper presentation so most of the work gets done from a forensic point-of-view like recreating a face from a bone skull.

And besides, science still today use atomic depictions of medicines and other chemicals with animation serving for a better understanding of that particular chemistry and no-one will dismiss that these medicines or chemicals are not actual to their chart. The chart serve as a bases a sort of scientific language in order to better communicate the evolution of chemistry.