Reader Desanera has opened my eyes to a magnificience source of information about things that bring science and beauty together. The Institute and Museum of the History of Science is a wealth of information, both visual and textual, on some of the steps forward (and occasionally sideways) on the path of science. There’s brass mechanisms aplenty, such as the theodolite above, but I have a definite soft spot in my heart for the video on ‘Electric Snakes‘ – though I could not find a photograph of one that I could use. Wonderfully Steampunk, but I have only yet managed to scratch the surface – there’s sundials and nocturnals, astrolabes and eudiometers, and so very much more.

A wealth of Steampunk inspiration and historical science beauty.

While generally this would be significantly too early for Steampunk (16th Century Germany) it’s such a marvellous combination of craftsmanship, brass and ingenuity that it sits perfectly alongside some of the more Victorian devices we’ve seen.  It’s a gunpowder flask, with brass and bone inlays, with a compass built into the centre and it can also operate as a pocket sundial!

The Watchismo Times will go into more detail (as they are very much timepiece experts) but I adore both the look and the aim to combine several different functions into one beautifully ornate work of practical art.  Thank you very much, Heresyoftruth!

As I said – a very good weekend for Steampunk contraptions – the above is the Villanizer Steampunk Guitar, created by Thunder Eagle Guitars.  With pipes and guages and beautiful gears – amazingly she sounds as good as she looks!  The creator modified a Rhodes Jackson V, copper plating some pickups, re-facing the guage, and adding some wonderful paint effects.  The creator (thundereagle) even posted about it on The Steampunk Forum, explaining a little more about the guitar.

Thanks to the people who have pointed me in this direction today – Crabfu, Tom, BoingBoing and Mr Libertino.  What a beautiful beast, and I shall quite envy the lucky person who emerges battered,bleeding and victorious from the upcoming Ebay auction for it.

It’s a wonderful weekend for Steampunk constructions, it seems.  The above may give you a sense of deja vu – it is a ‘Von Slatt’ style keyboard, made by his aquiantance Datamancer as a comission for a customer.  Someone had sought out Von Slatt for a keyboard, but Mr Von Slatt was unable to take the job, and Datamancer more than skillfully stepped up to the challenge.  As you can see, it’s in brushed aluminium and has a very aircraft engineering feel to it.  There are also lovely little blue aircraft style lights in the top corner.

It seems Mr Datamancer is willing to create more of these, in various styles and finishes, as comission pieces for those who really must have a gloriously Steampunk keyboard.  They are not cheap, as is the case with many handcrafted items, but contacting him is a good first step to see what might be arranged for this or indeed other fabrication tasks that Datamancer might turn his hand to.  Good luck, Mr Datamancer – your keyboard is both a fitting and worthy brother to Mr Von Slatts!

Ray Guns – impossibly marvelous and depending on how strict you are with your Steampunk, they either just catch the latter end of it, or are soundly stationed in the ‘pulp’ end of the spectrum.  The ones above are wonderfully finished – they’re made using raku firing techniques for ceramics, and they’re known as Raku Ray Guns, by West Magoon.

Most of them (there are several styles) are named for classic sci-fi authors, so expect to see the Burroughs Barsoom MkIV, the E.E. Doc Disintegrator and the above Heinlein Trooper.  They’re not cheap, mind you, so do not expect to pick up a matching pair without some consideration (nor indeed would the particular firing method result in any two looking identical) but they are handsome devices, mounted on moon-crater styled backplates.  Thank you so very much, Ms Libolt, for pointing them out to me!

What is it, you ask?  Why it’s a device for controlling the position of a pointer on the Telecalculograph, of course.  A mouse, as we fashionable young things might call it.  The ‘ball’ area is for resting your hand apon, and the ‘antennae’ are for clicking on, I believe.  It is The Bug, by Mr Hildebrandt, and a fitting accompanyment to the Telecalculograph computer mod that we featured a while ago.

Mr Hildebrandt has a thourough post on his page, Jake of all Trades, on the various parts that went into it, and indeed comments on the comfort of the peculiar device also.  Ever so distinctive and pleasantly brassy!  Very well done, Mr Hildebrandt.

A little while ago, the eminently talented people over at ConceptArt set the topic of their regular forum challenge for character concept art as “Steampunk Airship Pilot“, and what varied and interesting results there were.  The above is a crop of my favourite, done by forum member Venasque, but there are captains to suit every style, I think.  Scroll past the first voting post to see larger versions of each of the entries – it’s a large thread with lots of pictures, but they’re very well done.

I do love the colours of the one above though – this is my Steampunk – this may or may not have anything to do with the large quantity of brass in the image, including the goggles.  Ahem.  Thank you Wandering Nomad, (and there may have been someone else, but my aethermail refuses to cooperate – I will edit it in once I find it, I do apologise.)

Utterly perfect – Paleo-Future has a simply amazing post of a collection of promotional chocolate cards made in Germany by the cocoa company Hildebrand.  Created in the 1900′s, they predict life as they imagine it in the year 2000 – and there’s wonderful scenes both all too familiar and dissapointingly absent from our lives today.  From moving pavements and house pulled along on by a train, to weather machines, roofed cities and personal airships (oh, if that could just ‘take off’ I’d be inordinately pleased).

There’s really not much more I can add, except that it’s a perfect example of Steampunk – Victorian/Georgian era science predictions, where the technology changes but the society is unchanged.  I mean, simply the act of a stroll across the lake surface above, wishing others a good day, and even the horse has a balloon attached.  Perfectly implausible and wonderful at the same time.  Thanks to BoingBoing, Mr Hildebrandt (not directly related to the chocolate company in question, I assume) and Ms Nicole for pointing it out.  Just delightful.

What fun I had on Saturday!  I visited Shugborough Hall, a working estate, themed to be a window into life in the year (rather early for Steampunk) 1805.  While there are no doubt a great many historic estates, I liked this one most of all because they have themed staff working away on the estate, willing to answer questions on life in the very early 1800′s.  I had the most lovely chat with one of the gardeners in the walled garden, initially just to ask what had been eating his cabbages (pidgeons, apparently) but later to discuss his plans for getting the glasshouses and mushroom huts up and running again.  You can chat with the brewer (I had a sip of the brew, but ugh – I dislike beer something terrible, and this was no exception – I needed some icecream afterwards) and I had a natter with a scullery maid and the butler in the dining room.  There is an area just off the walled garden (and before the servants quarter) where there are appropriate craft bothies, the candlemaker was very informative and the woodturner very skilled.

There were several themed rooms up in the main house – a schoolhouse room, play room, kitchens and sculleries, there’s a working flour mill (you may buy some flour made on the premesis), a carriage display (I adored the hansom cabs) and a sweetie shop to boot.  I did like it a great deal, but I have to say that I much prefered the servants area and garden the best – the big house was far more stern.  Oh, and I had a ride on the ‘land train’ – a custom converted road vehicle made to look like a steam engine, pulling carriages down the road.  Rather amusing indeed.

While it’s a tenner to access all the areas, I’d recommend it to anyone who’d like to see a bit of Georgian history toiling away (though of course, it’s not 100% accurate, or they’d run screaming from the strange people with their strange ways – us).  Lots of fun – and I think I’d go again, if only to encourage them to get the mushroom beds in!

Mr Walpole pointed out this page of beautiful (but frustratingly small) pictures of an early automobile.  Now, the page claims that it was the first automobile in 1887, and based on the developing bicycle industry, but Wikipedia has very convincing arguements to the contrary – what is quite apparent though is that it’s a delightful looking mode of transportation, and I simply demand to know why I cannot purchase a parasoled steam tricycle these days.  I mean, it’s a wonderful Steampunk contrivance, but the parasol just sets it off marvelously!

Whether or not it was the first, or even the last – I love it.  It’s amazing and I can even just about manage to imagine that it wouldn’t be smelly, loud and bone jarring.  chuckles  (Good hats, too.)  Thank you, Mr Walpole!