Was steampunk known in the 80s?

[Voltin]

Space 1889 was a roleplaying game GDW put out in 1988.  It was and is classic steampunk, although the name wasn't much used then.

I appreciate J. Wilhelm's bringing up Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science" from 1982.  Some of us watched that video obsessively.

Remember also that there was a resurgence of retro-Victoriana in the 1970s, which included a remarkable number of theme restaurants which looked like someone had set off an explosive in an antiques shop and nailed the objects down where they hit the wall, not to mention a great deal of penny-farthing riding and the like.  In the early 1980s it had devolved into a sort of Prairie Romanticism, where women and girls wore high-necked blouses with rows of ruffles down the front and occasionally bloomers or bicycling breeches as well.

Perfect timing!  Your mention of restaurants also reminded me of one restaurant which closed in the mid-1980's and most likely was open to business since the late 1970's

This one was a real shame to lose and I've mentioned it in the past:  the "Crystal Baking Co." in San Antonio, Texas.  This little gem of a venue had a real wooden Victorian bar, and was most notorious for having gigantic pharmacy mirrors with Victorian and Edwardian product advertisement.  A good example is signage in the style of this Coca Cola poster:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cocacola-5cents-1900_edit1.jpg

The dining area had been decorated like a closed garden with wrought iron park benches, small trees and plants, and running fountains, all under leaded glass domes.

Dining in that restaurant was a real joy after suffering a red hot 43 Celsius summer day in Texas.  Sadly I only visited the place a couple of times before they closed, as I lived further south in the American Continent.

I had previously opened a Steampunk Restaurants thread, where I briefly described this and other venues: http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,31864.msg690050.html#msg690050

A second contemporary restaurant still open is the Old San Francisco Steak House; complete with rogue California "Barbary Coast Saloon" ambiance...  I'll let you peruse their website:

http://www.theoldsanfrancisco.com/

Wasn't this the same time period when Dave Thomas cane up with the little pig-tailed girl logo for the "Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers" chain?  Not that I think any of the above is Steampunk but it crystalizes the Victorian and/or Wild West influences toward the end of the 1970s and early 80s.

EDIT:  Again, none of this being Steampunk, but rather some sort of subconscious aesthetic influence in America; curiously your mention of "prairie" also brings brings to mind that television series of "Little House on the Prairie" based on the literary work with the sane name:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_House_on_the_Prairie

Starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert (1974-1983), this may have also been a "soft" but pervasive influence in popular culture...

LHOP ~ The Pride of Walnut Grove prt1

Ahh Little House on the Praire. I grew up watching that show. Funny how Mary was so excited to travel to Minneapolis. Some of us from Pig's Eye (St. Paul) try to avoid our sister city as much as possible now-a-days  

[Uncle Arthur]

I managed ONE season of Little House. After that I couldn't deal with the excess sweetness. Loved the books as a child though.  Funny, I prefer St Paul myself. Even though I amfrom across the border a bit South of Eau Claire WI.

[J. Wilhelm]

This one was a real shame to lose and I've mentioned it in the past:  the "Crystal Baking Co." in San Antonio, Texas.  This little gem of a venue had a real wooden Victorian bar, and was most notorious for having gigantic pharmacy mirrors with Victorian and Edwardian product advertisement.  A good example is signage in the style of this Coca Cola poster:

I regret to say that I only ate at the "Crystal Baking Co." once or twice (once was Thanksgiving or New Year's Day) but it WAS nice!

Aah! Do at least one gentleman remembers the venue!  Yes it was nice and a great place it would be for Steampunk meetings. I don't mind Opal Divine's (tavern) and Epoch's (Student coffee house) for our meetings, but that restaurant would have a nice family ambiance...

On the restaurant subject, I do remember Farrell's from my youth in Houston, Texas. From Wiki:
 "Farrell's became known for their offer of a free ice cream sundae to children on their birthday. The parlors had an 1890s theme, with employees wearing period dress and straw boater hats, and each location featured a player piano."
So not steampunk, but an example of the Victorian influence in the late 70s.
*snip*

By all means, feel free to list in the Anatomical/Steampunk Restaurants thread!

[Will Howard]

So, back to the ORIGINAL thread, can we conclude that, while what was to become known as "Steampunk" was indeed known in the (19)80s, the term itself was a rather late arrival?

[TimeTinker]

That is my understanding although I would be delighted to be proven wrong.

My researches seem to indicate that the term "Steampunk" really began to be bandied about as a label for the whole scene in the early-mid noughties and perhaps ironically it was the makers and builders who were at the forefront of this adoption.

[J. Wilhelm]

That is my understanding although I would be delighted to be proven wrong.

My researches seem to indicate that the term "Steampunk" really began to be bandied about as a label for the whole scene in the early-mid noughties and perhaps ironically it was the makers and builders who were at the forefront of this adoption.

Well I guess "Steampunk" sounds edgy enough...

[Voltin]

The underrated film Young Einstein in my opinion is Steampunk. However the term "Steampunk" wasn't that known at the time.

[Uncle Arthur]

The animated scenes in all the Monty Python episodes had a very steampunk feel. Though not actually steampunk.

[pakled]

Well, technically 1990 could be considered the last year of the 80s, in the way that the 21st century started in '01.
       I think Girl Genius started in '01 or 02...thought some of the characters (Krosp, even Barry) made appearances in earlier works...

[Atterton]

I don't think the decades has that same delay as the centuries.

[TimeTinker]

I concur with Atterton on that.  It is certainly not a conventional way to look at it.  The eighties begin with an 8 not a 9.

This thread is about "Steampunk" as a term for the whole genre and how widely it was actually used.  When was it adopted (we know when it was coined but was it used?)

[J. Wilhelm]

I concur with Atterton on that.  It is certainly not a conventional way to look at it.  The eighties begin with an 8 not a 9.

This thread is about "Steampunk" as a term for the whole genre and how widely it was actually used.  When was it adopted (we know when it was coined but was it used?)

Please correct me if I'm wrong Mr. Tinker, but I was under the impression the OP was asking about how well the anachronistic concept, genre, aesthetic and culture we now understand as "Steampunk" was known in the 1980's, as opposed to the usage and application of the word "Steampunk," itself, which I don't believe was well known nor used, since the word did not exist until 1987 in a letter to Locus Magazine...

[Just call me Rob]

So. Was steampunk as phrase well known in 87,88,89.

Perhaps someone has evidence if the phrase earlier?

[J. Wilhelm]

So, back to the ORIGINAL thread, can we conclude that, while what was to become known as "Steampunk" was indeed known in the (19)80s, the term itself was a rather late arrival?

I think so.  I can't find evidence for usage of the term at earlier times prior to 1987, but there is plenty of cultural material that supports the idea that the concept was understood by the public.  Perhaps the focus was not as narrow as "Victorian Era Sci-Fi,"  and obviously it was culturally biased; the Weird West Genre, as a concept (not a name) was well known and used in television in the 1960s' in Wild Wild West and even some episodes of the 1960's Star Trek (a concept revisited many times 20-30 years later in the Next Generation, Voyager and Enterprise spinoffs).

I totally forgot about the Star Trek: Next Generation; the programme started airing in 1987...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectre_of_the_Gun
http://io9.com/5280450/star-treks-absolute-worst-holodeck-adventures
http://www.tv.com/shows/star-trek-enterprise/north-star-272139/

[W. S. Marble]

Many of the storylines in Heavy Metal (Metal Hurlant, Schwer Metal) from that timeframe were Steampunk themed also.  I really miss all that great artwork.

[J. Wilhelm]

It just occurred to me I may be able to ask KW Jeter himself (!).  He (or rather his Tweeter account) started following my Twitter account sometime back, although I don't know if he would personally read and answer my tweets...

[W. S. Marble]

I just realized that my post above came completely out of left field and interrupted what was an ongoing conversation--sorry about that!

[Dr Fidelius]

I just realized that my post above came completely out of left field and interrupted what was an ongoing conversation--sorry about that!

No problem. We are mentally flexible enough to accommodate an occasional non sequitur.

(By Ganesha, if we all waited our turn before speaking we would never get to say anything.)

[Will Howard]

Please correct me if I'm wrong Mr. Tinker, but I was under the impression the OP was asking about how well the anachronistic concept, genre, aesthetic and culture we now understand as "Steampunk" was known in the 1980's, as opposed to the usage and application of the word "Steampunk," itself, which I don't believe was well known nor used, since the word did not exist until 1987 in a letter to Locus Magazine...

The term may have been coined in 1987, BUT it was created to describe something already coming into common knowledge.  Therefore what we now call "Steampunk" WAS known in the 1980s... even without the name attached to it.

[J. Wilhelm]

Please correct me if I'm wrong Mr. Tinker, but I was under the impression the OP was asking about how well the anachronistic concept, genre, aesthetic and culture we now understand as "Steampunk" was known in the 1980's, as opposed to the usage and application of the word "Steampunk," itself, which I don't believe was well known nor used, since the word did not exist until 1987 in a letter to Locus Magazine...

The term may have been coined in 1987, BUT it was created to describe something already coming into common knowledge.  Therefore what we now call "Steampunk" WAS known in the 1980s... even without the name attached to it.

That's exactly what I meant in my original paragraph.  And my examples on Star Trek, Little House on the Prarie, etc.

[Atterton]

Film Noir wasn't named Film Noir untill the early 60s or so, people still knew what it was before that.

[KABAR2]

I submit that while the term Stempunk may not have been known in the 1960's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang & Professor Caractacus Potts inventions I would say are the beginnings of what would become Steampunk the actual artist who built these for the movie was Rowland Emett

Caractacus Potts Weird Machines

 

[Doc Rivets]

I was alive in the 80s, and the 70s, and the 60s.... lets stop there shall we?
And I would have to say that as we know of Steampunk today, then no, it wasn't around then.
For me Steampunk began in on or about 1992 with the novel by Bruce Stirling and William Gibson, The Difference Engine.
Every steampunker worth his  salt should know of this book. It was pivotal.
I had a copy hardbacked first edition for many years, under glass, lit by a single blue LED from above.
Sometimes, as I passed... I would bow, in sublime acknowledgement.

Doc

Certified Time Traveller : Moving through time at the rate of 1 hour, per hour.

[Atterton]

What about the Wild Wild West tv-series? Or for a similar concept set in a different time, The Rocketeer from 1989?

[J. Wilhelm]

What about the Wild Wild West tv-series? Or for a similar concept set in a different time, The Rocketeer from 1989?

Yes, the Wild Wild West has been mentioned, but it's a 1960's series.  It did exist as re-runs though and was a fairly popular re-run, as were the Star Trek original episodes.  I watched both regularly while in high school in Mexico during the 1980's (dubbed in Spanish, of course).  The Rocketeer, I never got to see before I moved back to the US.