Haruo Suekichi from Japan, whose stunning gallery of steampunk watches was previously featured on Brass Goggles, has now offered a few of his designs for sale at Chief Mag! These two beautifully handcrafted watches are available in two designs, male and female. Unfortunately these will be among the rarest of rares, for there will only be two of each for sale, and will cost a pretty penny. The male design costs $1200, while the female design costs $800. Let’s hope Mr. Suekichi makes more!

Boingboing recently wrote a bit about an old computer, a heavyweight contraption weighting in at 2500 lbs, whose inner workings of gears, cogs and mechanical components of all kinds, enclosed in glass and mahogany, are capable of out-preforming a team of a 100 trained mathematicians.

It is the tide predicting machine Number two, also known as “the brass brain”

More pictures can be found here

Read the rest of this entry »

“Steampunk bursts through its subculture roots to challenge our musical, fashion, design, and even political sensibilities.” With that daring statements opens one of the latest articles from the on-line publication The Phoenix, the statement in question being forwarded by a Miss Sharon Steel who begins her study into the wonderful world of steampunk through an investigation into the equally intriguing world of Mr Jake von Slatt—the great steampunk inventor we’re all perfectly familiar, of course, and who graces the article with this fine photograph by a Mr Mike Pecci.

The article, entitled “Steam Dream,” offers no particular new insights but chronicles the history and characteristics of the genre splendidly, all the way back to 1987 when K.W. Jete first uttered the phrase. Passing The Difference Engine, Wild Wild West, and of course The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Miss Steel, still in the courteous company of Mr Von Slatt, takes us further into the world of steampunk online, and seems quite charmed with the pleasant community which we built ourselves! The article becomes more interesting on its last two pages, when Miss Steel studies the philosophy of steampunk subculture and explores its motives and purposes. Definitely required reading for all us steampunk enthusiasts, I’d say!

I thank Miss Isabel Aller, Interactive Marketing Manager for The Phoenix, for bringing this excellent article to our attention! (Thanks also Mr Von Slatt and Drew.)

Sculpted by the artful hands of one Monsieur Pierre Matter, comes a conglomeration of wonderful artifacts amalgamating bronze and steel with the resemblance of various members of the animal kingdom.

I give pause to wonder if these inspire my imagination of a bleak future in which mechanical animals are man’s answer to some blighting of fauna, or if perhaps the are more of a thing you would see in the laboratory of a grease smudged engineer hand crafting metal pets for his own amusement and study.

Kindly direct your aethernet viewer of choice here to see a gallery of his works.

Doktor A’s official art showcase kicks off in St. Columbus, Ohio on June the 7th, as you can see in the beautifully designed leaflet above. The show will act as an initial primer for the upcoming mini series “Mechtorians”, released by Doktor A in partnership with MindStyle, the previews of which were seen at New York ComicCon with a selection of rare paint masters being made available. However, for all you British fans out there, you can meet and greet the good Doktor this Saturday (May 17th) at the Richard Goodhall Gallery in Manchester from 12 till 5 PM. Signings will also be taking place at the gallery as well as a variety of customs and prints also being available from an array of artists. Yet it gets better! Although not directly a Steampunk artist, Kathie Olivas will also be in attendance, her fans including Doktor A and Doctor Steel to name a few.

Read the rest of this entry »

Photo (from left): Meaghan, G.D.Falksen, Evelyn, Christine.
Meaghan wears a red silk shirt from Retroscope, Evelyn with a clockwork locket from black phoenix alchemy lab, and Christine wears a dress she made herself.

On May 8th,The New York Times published the first article on steampunk fashion and subculture by a major newspaper. The article has already helped introduce new people to the subject of steampunk. As the first major article on this subject it is balanced and respectful.

You can read the whole article and view its whole gallery: Here

The article covers the main points of 21st century steampunk. It includes quotations from interviews with the Steampunk Workshop’s Jake von Slatt, Abney Park’s Robert, and Molly “Porkshanks” Friedrich. The article references steampunk fiction, films, and draws a connection with the “neovaudevillian” James Gang in order to make steampunk more accessible to the public. The article is accompanied by photographs from a steampunk meet up in New York City, which The Times reporter,Ruth La Ferla,attended. Among those pictured in the paper are Steampunk couture designer Sidonie of To Die for Designs.

All in all, it was a very well done piece that will likely circumvent initial hostility new subcultures often encounter when first discovered by the mainstream.

Seeing as how this will be my first post, I figured I’d start off with something so spectacular that it would be an offense to the very aether itself. After a disappointing couple of minutes, I realized that that wouldn’t be as easy as I had initially hoped so I’ll have to settle for this instead.

If you’re anything like me, you read the first couple of pages of The Five Fists of Science and were instantly envious of Nikola Tesla and his plasma guns. Well, my dear comrades, envy no more for RMC Cybernetics has come to your aid with instructions for a DIY Plasma Gun! They estimate the cost to fall anywhere between $150-$200 depending on whether or not you use new or used parts but I think for another $50 it can be cleaned up to look like something presentable. At the low voltage they provide instructions for, your body acts as the ground so there’s little to worry about in terms of danger.

I’ve already started to buy parts and I’ll post images as soon as it’s done. There should be a video after the jump, I’m pretty sure there is…

Read the rest of this entry »

Now updated! Apparently the demand is such that they’ve pushed the deadline back a day, just for Brass Goggles readers.

Quickly! Do you want a collection of of Steampunk tales from some of the best authors in the business? Do you seek tales of metal men, corsets aplenty and more cogs than you can shake a tesla-cane at? Perhaps you’d like it discounted and personally ‘blimped’ by the editors, Ann and Jeff Vandermeer? Then you want a copy of the Steampunk Anthology!

Then haste ye to to your aethermail and Paypal those hard working souls (vanderworld at hotmail.com) or email them (to reserve it) and then send a cheque to the address at their site. Until tomorrow Friday, it will set you back $12 in the US (with shipping), and various other reasonable sounding prices for Canada, Australia and Europe. Apparently they are working their fingers to the bone personalising every book ordered up to the 15th 16th of May with a little airship/zeppelin/blimp picture, just for you. If you don’t make it in time for the deadline, it’s still only $14.95 and there abouts.

While on the quest for Steampunk-themed décor for my humble abode, I found myself at the RISD [ Rhode Island School of Design ] Alumni Art Sale, and stumbled upon these delicious tiles, created by Jon White at Odd Inq. There are 26 tiles total - of course! - and each one is a rather unexpected take on the letter, including G for Gravestone, I for Industry, and V for Vault.

I personally own A for Alligator & Z for Zeppelin, whose juxtaposition I particularly enjoy.

See the full tile set here or visit his website, for other ceramic goods he’s created.

Wearing your Pocket Watch - Part 1.

Perhaps one of the most desirable Steampunk garb accessories is the pocket watch. A pocket watch certainly adds a classy and retro element to any attire. But, how to wear them, you may well ask? The answer lies in the variety of chains that were common in the Victorian era. A watch chain is a necessity, especially with a vintage mechanical pocket watch. Most older pocket watches have no built-in means of protection against shock for the delicate balance shaft. Dropping your watch meant an expensive repair.

Read the rest of this entry »