Steampunk, Ray guns and Goggles (Oh my!)

[techgnosi]

So something I was thinking about earlier, and if it was discussed already I apologize, but just how were goggles and ray guns brought about to be associated with steampunk? I can understand dirigibles due to the timing of their creation and ties to the industrial revolution.  Things like Gatling guns and shoulder canons make sense.  But where to ray guns and goggles really come to be so heavily tied to steampunk from?

[Lucius Voltaic]

Um, um, um...It's because, um...

Huh, I have no idea.

[Sgt.Major Thistlewaite]

If you flew in an airship or an open cockpit aeroplane, you wore goggles. If you rode a high wheel bicycle, or a motorcycle, or drove one of the new-fangled horseless carriages, you wore goggles. If you worked in a laboratory, you wore goggles. Or a foundry. Goggles were pretty much tied to the technology of the Victorian period, so those are easy enough.

Ray-guns? Aside from H.G.'s martian weapons, and maybe some of Nemo's stuff, that's harder to pinpoint. Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon actually came a little bit later. It's funny to me that most seem to think that their sidearm should be either a caplock single shot pistol, which was already nearly obsolete near the beginning of the Victorian period, or a ray-gun, which still hasn't truly been invented as of this writing, and almost nobody carries what was undoubtedly the most iconic piece of the period, the Colt's Single Action Army revolver.

~Thistlewaite

[patron_vectras]

If you flew in an airship or an open cockpit aeroplane, you wore goggles. If you rode a high wheel bicycle, or a motorcycle, or drove one of the new-fangled horseless carriages, you wore goggles. If you worked in a laboratory, you wore goggles. Or a foundry. Goggles were pretty much tied to the technology of the Victorian period, so those are easy enough.

Ray-guns? Aside from H.G.'s martian weapons, and maybe some of Nemo's stuff, that's harder to pinpoint. Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon actually came a little bit later. It's funny to me that most seem to think that their sidearm should be either a caplock single shot pistol, which was already nearly obsolete near the beginning of the Victorian period, or a ray-gun, which still hasn't truly been invented as of this writing,

and almost nobody carries what was undoubtedly the most iconic piece of the period, the Colt's Single Action Army revolver.

~Thistlewaite

holy crap. you're right...
Its probable more people carry harpoons or crossbows!

I think the Victorian era being the dawn of electricity has quite a bit to do with it.

[cyberjacques]

It seems that the raygun thing came from a few different places.  H.G. Wells, of course, with his heat-rays.  Also, one of the first scientists to posit the concept of directed energy weapons was Nikola Tesla, who is reported to have created working "death rays".  Even though he didn't do this until the 1930's, his work has apparently been intimately tied into Steampunk since before the genre had even been named.  In the early Edwardian period, which has many elements that overlap into steampunk and dieselpunk, rayguns started appearing in many works of science fiction.  The general concept of rayguns expanded in later years, but their origins seem to have adhered to the late Victorian era, and have consequently become a deeply entrenched part of the Steampunk aesthetic.

And goggles are just cool...

[markf]

It seems that the raygun thing came from a few different places.  H.G. Wells, of course, with his heat-rays.  Also, one of the first scientists to posit the concept of directed energy weapons was Nikola Tesla, who is reported to have created working "death rays".  Even though he didn't do this until the 1930's, his work has apparently been intimately tied into Steampunk since before the genre had even been named.  In the early Edwardian period, which has many elements that overlap into steampunk and dieselpunk, rayguns started appearing in many works of science fiction.  The general concept of rayguns expanded in later years, but their origins seem to have adhered to the late Victorian era, and have consequently become a deeply entrenched part of the Steampunk aesthetic.
And goggles are just cool...

Exactly so on all counts.  Also extending Mr Cyberjacques point a bit, HG Wells' use of the Martian death rays in 'War of the Worlds' (1898) was frequently described in the Victorian press at the time as 'heat rays', no doubt to help the newspapers' readership understand the idea a bit better.  A primitive reflected sun/concave mirror version of such a weapon was said to used (depending on whether one believes Archimedes' heat ray really was deployed at the Battle of Syracuse, circa 214 BC) in real life, a fact known to Victorian historians and no doubt brilliant polymaths like HG Wells.  For me at least I don't consider it much of a leap to think an alternative historical sci-fi genre like steampunk wouldn't include more compact versions of death rays/heat rays.  markf

[Aaron]

I think the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs were also very influential in this regard. Although "Princess of Mars" was published in 1917, its sensibility is very Steampunk as it features a character from the Civil War and much of Burroughs' notions of Mars were influenced by theories of late 19th century scientists. The "radium" rifles and pistols were clearly ray guns of some sort. Further, the drawings of these weapons by the various artists who did cover art for the books all seem to employ a very ornate, rather Victorian (in design) look. So if you wanna look for blame or credit, look to Burroughs.

[Anthony Brinley]

Personally I despise the whole "Ray-Gun" thing. 

[Aaron]

Personally I despise the whole "Ray-Gun" thing.  

I used to feel this way because I was mostly into it for the Victorian thing rather than the SciFi angle (I'm a huge fan of the Victorian period and Sherlock Holmes in particular), but as I got more familiar with the Steampunk "aesthetic" I was slowly converted. I think the Victorian-esque ray guns add a great SciFi feel, which is, after all, what separates Steampunk from simple Victoriana. Plus, I ordered the $100 Weta ray gun and I'll be damned if I'm not gonna wear that lovely thing around as a prop when I go to Steampunk events.

What I refuse to do, however, is wear goggles on my derby or my top hat. I know that's the definitive Steampunk look, but unless I'm wearing the costume of some sort of aviator or pilot or someone who would naturally wear goggles, they seem silly as an accessory. A pocket watch and a walking cane, OTOH, are absolute musts!

[techgnosi]

If you flew in an airship or an open cockpit aeroplane, you wore goggles. If you rode a high wheel bicycle, or a motorcycle, or drove one of the new-fangled horseless carriages, you wore goggles. If you worked in a laboratory, you wore goggles. Or a foundry. Goggles were pretty much tied to the technology of the Victorian period, so those are easy enough.

Definitely makes sense.  I come at it more from a Weird West sort of angle, horses and stage coaches, but the goggles would still make sense in a lot of cases here given the changes that can be associated with a steampunking of the weird west (Love Deadlands).

and almost nobody carries what was undoubtedly the most iconic piece of the period, the Colt's Single Action Army revolver.

~Thistlewaite

I've a Peacemaker replica I could use depending on the rules of a given location in regards to their "weapons" policy.  I was looking at the rules for a con I intend to go to in Ohio and they were somewhat vague in regards to "realistic" weapons and the like, where as a good raygun is obviously not a real weapon.  We'll see, though.

[dman762000]

Its simple really: ray guns come from mad science and mad scientists. What good loony brain-boy would be caught dead without his destruct-o-ray?

Ray-guns are mad science at its finest. What normal person would create something so destructive?

[Malcom Kane]

Pesonally I think the LeMatt is more Steampunk. However even a reproduction causeth con. security to freak ,so I pack a raygun .

[Lucius Voltaic]

I don't have a raygun yet, but I plan to make one as soon as I can get some good bits together.

[The_Major]

I would say that I am at the opposing end of the bar from Mr Brinley as I am a BIG fan of Ray Guns or Atom Dispersers, if I had the spare funds I would probably buy the set that WETA put together but until then I shall attempt to build my own.