Where Did The Gears Come From?

[MWBailey]

I was looking at the "What Jewelry was prevalent in Victorian era?" thread, adn my interest was piqued by the posts that describe the meanings and origins of some of the pieces from the period.

A few questions floated to the top of the dark pools in my brain:
1. Where, in fact, did the idea of using gears and cogs, etc., in a design, and of using the gears themselves as a design, come from?

2. Who or what inspired such pieces?

3. Was it the Girl Genius webcomic?

4. Did it spring from a book or group of books in the literary genre?


(If this is posted in the wrong place, I apologize. Feel free to move it if necessary)

[Maets]

Gears are just great shapes.  Pleasingly symetrical. Also rather floral looking.

I have been using gears as design elements for 20 years.  Not little brass clock gears but larger steel gears from cars, trucks and tractors.  Just liked the look and fortunately many others have liked the look of the things I have made.

But to be clear, I don't claim ANY credit for starting the use of gears as a design element.

[Capt. Dirigible]

Cogs and gears just scream 'steampunk'. If you want to make 'steampunk' jewellry then using cogs and gears as part of that design makes sense.

If you were  making Goth jewellry you can use skulls or bat motifs or coffins..for punks , safety pins and razor blades..for steampunks  it's gears and cvogs and clockwork mechanisms.

[Dr Fidelius]

One of the hallmarks of Steampunk is its reliance on absurdly complex mechanical gadgets to replicate modern devices. Large exposed gears are a visual clue that a mechanism was made prior to enforced concepts of workplace safety. So, the gear motif has become intrinsically associated with Steampunk, and carried over to being a decorative flourish.

(I am also partial to the Depression Era and Soviet Propaganda posters of Industry! with a capital I, although that only overlaps our chosen target years incidentally.)

[Uncle Arthur]

The ones I am using came out of the transmission of  53 Ford truck when I tried to do a panic downshift on a huge hill.

[bicyclebuilder]

Where do gears come from? "sit down son. I have to tell you something. When a man and a woman really like eachother...." oh, wait, that's another story.

Seriously, I think the gears in Steampunk come from the industrial era it (usually) takes place. At that time gears where what drove the world. Clockwork, steamengines, machines, all driven with cogs and gears. When you want to show something "futuristic seen from a Victorian point of view" an excess of cogs might work.

Looking at the design of a gear, this is a nice symetric form that can be used. Decoration, function or a bit of both.

[MWBailey]

Where do gears come from? "sit down son. I have to tell you something. When a man and a woman really like eachother...." oh, wait, that's another story.

Er...   

Seriously, I think the gears in Steampunk come from the industrial era it (usually) takes place. At that time gears where what drove the world. Clockwork, steamengines, machines, all driven with cogs and gears. When you want to show something "futuristic seen from a Victorian point of view" an excess of cogs might work.

This is more to the point of what I meant to ask; Perhaps I was not as clear asi i could have been.

Looking at the design of a gear, this is a nice symetric form that can be used. Decoration, function or a bit of both.

Does anybody know when the cog-and-gear motif first became labeled as 'steampunk?' I realize this might become a bone of contention for some, but it's a question that's smouldered at the back of my brain for several years, now.

[Alfaya]

Seriously, I think the gears in Steampunk come from the industrial era it (usually) takes place. At that time gears where what drove the world. Clockwork, steamengines, machines, all driven with cogs and gears. When you want to show something "futuristic seen from a Victorian point of view" an excess of cogs might work.

Looking at the design of a gear, this is a nice symetric form that can be used. Decoration, function or a bit of both.

Totally agree. Besides, using vintage watch movements can give historical value to a jewelry piece, and it means repurposing and 'rescuing' treasures from the past. Just in case you want to have a look a it, we have recently published a blog post related to the topic: 'The 5 secrets of Steampunk fine jewelry'.

Cheers!

[Argus Fairbrass]

I also think as well as everything else that's been said, once again it's partly influenced by Cyberpunk. This is the website of Joe Rush from the Mutoid Waste Company. A true group of Cyberpunk makers if ever there was one. Have a look at the sculpture and design sections in particular, some aspects may seem familiar.

http://www.joerush.com/index.html

[Ezra Hogbin]

The ones I am using came out of the transmission of  53 Ford truck when I tried to do a panic downshift on a huge hill.

Sounds like the gears may have removed themselves from the transmission! 
I had a friend who accidentally put an automatic into reverse whilst travelling forwards at 60mph. Somehow his transmission survived, somehow!

[Alfaya]

I also think as well as everything else that's been said, once again it's partly influenced by Cyberpunk. This is the website of Joe Rush from the Mutoid Waste Company. A true group of Cyberpunk makers if ever there was one. Have a look at the sculpture and design sections in particular, some aspects may seem familiar.

http://www.joerush.com/index.html

I didn't know Mr. Rush, his works seem to be very interesting. In any case, maybe both Cyberpunk and Steampunk has been inspired by the industrial revolution and its omnipresent mechanization...

[robotmastern]

The ones I am using came out of the transmission of  53 Ford truck when I tried to do a panic downshift on a huge hill.

Sounds like the gears may have removed themselves from the transmission! 
I had a friend who accidentally put an automatic into reverse whilst travelling forwards at 60mph. Somehow his transmission survived, somehow!

Cause automatics use a fluid clutch that will slip if enough force is applied

[Semper Victoria]

Gears, plural, have been a part of Steampunk literature since before it even had a name! It represented the mechanism of industry and so forth, serving a useful purpose as well as aesthetic. So in a way, it's always been there but wasn't the sole symbol of Steampunk (or even the most recognizable one) until more recently when the preponderance of items labeled "Steampunk" and brandishing random useless gears helped it to become the most mainstream iconography.

It seems like it's only been in this past decade that we've taken gears away from their context and adopted the now-common practice of "glue some gears on it and call it Steampunk" ;-). To me, a single non-functional non-moving gear (or several of them stuck together with hot glue) is rather lonely looking (not to mention cliched), but I love moving gears and the way they fit together so simply and elegantly, and I wish more Steampunk kit used them that way!

[Nuaie]

I don't know where the gears really came from... but I would say that the reason it works so well is because in an age of silent, invisible machinery scattered throughout our lives, raw workings are rare to see. I start geeking out when I see hydraulics working and things shifting around in plain sight. Didn't realize it till last night when I saw the S.H.I.E.L.D Heli-carrier when the rotors started coming out, but being able to see things as they work is really kind of an awesome thing. I mean, you can't see or hear a computer as it processes and works, but when you pull off the face of a clock, you can see all the inner workings.

[Alfaya]

I don't know where the gears really came from... but I would say that the reason it works so well is because in an age of silent, invisible machinery scattered throughout our lives, raw workings are rare to see. [...] being able to see things as they work is really kind of an awesome thing.

I think like you do, human beings are curious by nature and we all like to know how things work.

To me, a single non-functional non-moving gear (or several of them stuck together with hot glue) is rather lonely looking (not to mention cliched), but I love moving gears and the way they fit together so simply and elegantly, and I wish more Steampunk kit used them that way!

It is a pity that, as it has been stated, it can be quite complicated to find working 'devices'...