Steampunk

Imagine if the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells were history, rather than fiction.

Steampunk is a relative of cyberpunk and is a similar contraction, combining Steam and Punk. Steam harkens back to the late 1800s and early 1900s - where Victorian ideals of dress, manners, propriety and style were combined with the Industrial Revolution's explosion of devices of convenience powered by steam and clockwork. Dirigibles and massive mechanical thinking engines ala Charles Babbage feature heavily. Punk has the attitude of rejecting the status quo, the current ideals and replacing it with a solid dose of rebellious self reliance. Constructions made by the self or a group rather than mass produced commercialism is a key concept here.

Some unifying elements of steampunk are Do It Yourself (also helps when things inevitably break; if you know how it went together it's easier to fix), Neo-Victorian/ Late-Victorian aesthetic (chances are most people have garments that could fit this aesthetic that need tweaking), Retro-futurism (jetpacks et al.), Romanticism (steamy!).

ROSEA, the Royal Omnitological Society for Electrodyne Adventurers, formalized around six core members and has expanded to include other talented individuals. Joined by the Brisbane steampunk group known as FAUST the two have a loose alliance termed STEAM and are happy to help any like-minded people with advice, camaraderie and a nice cup of tea when possible. For more information an steampunk as a genre, peruse the inspiration below.

Inspiration - books and comics

Steampunk was coined as a genre around the 1980s, but works that support the steampunk ideal were around well before that. Many of the works by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells can be found for free, legal download from eBook repositories.

  • Jules Verne: 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, From the Earth to the Moon, Paris in the 20th Century. These books were written before the turn of the 20th century and predicted submarines, rocket ships, air-conditioning - many modern technologies. The overarching technology aesthetic remained Victorian in style, a driving force behind modern Steampunk.
  • The Difference Engine: Written by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, it's described as a prime example of the steampunk sub-genre. Modern-esque devices wrapped in Industrial Revolution technology, hackers (clackers in this parlance) trying to break into the mass produced difference engines. It is a complete alternate history sparking off from our own but with parallels of events/ technology.
  • H.G. Wells: The First Men in the Moon, The Island of Dr Moreau, The Time Machine. More ubiquitous speculative fiction that has mirrored modern advancements. Well, we haven't revealed the time machine yet due to patenting issues.
  • Girl Genius: By Phil and Kaja Foglio, the comics follow Agatha Heterodyne through an alternate Europe where "the industrial revolution became an all-out war". Dirigibles, utterly bonkers science, constructs and clanks. Most of ROSEA swear by their goggles that their store is marvelous – not just because most of ROSEA got their goggles originally from said store.
  • League of Extra-ordinary Gentlemen: A little more adult than most people expect from a comic book (the Invisible Man introduction was quite confronting, as if the acquisition of Quartermain wasn't enough), regardless of your opinion of the movie this does delve into a distopian vision of steampunk.

Inspiration - movies and television

  • League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Almost nothing like the comic, but that's why these are movie adaptions rather than direct clones. The Nautilus is tres steamy. And you cannot go wrong with dirigibles. Well, not without trying hard.
  • The Time Machine: Say what you will about movies not following plots, but that is one delicious looking time machine. Watch the DVD extras for more shots of it.
  • Baron Munchausen: While quite a bit earlier than the generally accepted steampunk era (being the reign of Queen Victoria), the clockwork bird, hot air balloon and musical instrument of the Grand Turk have airs of the technology. And I'm quite taken by the whole tall tales factor.
  • Doctor Who, "The Next Doctor" 2008 Christmas Special: The Doctor has generally had an aura of steampunk – fixing his own technology (occasionally using the ancient technique of percussive maintenance) – but this time the Cybermen get involved. Steam will out, after all.
  • Doctor Who, "The Girl in the Fireplace": Clockwork bad guys, Madame de Pompadour. The Doctor rides a horse. Delightful.

Inspiration - devicery

This section presents a number of sites with steampunk examples, advice, and items for purchase.

Inspiration - fashion

Inspiration - art and writing

Inspiration - music

  • Clockwork Quartet: Not only are their topics Victorian steampunkian, but they have Steampunk characters and their first two songs are about clockwork and science – with the talent to include clock-ticks and scientific note-taking as musical instruments.
  • Abney Park

Inspiration - shops

Participation - groups and events

Journal

Steampunk

Experiments

Contact

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