The New York Times has a fun feature on steampunk.

There is something romantic about the early industrial era that later eras (e.g., the 50s) seem to lack. Maybe it’s the combination of Victorian sensibility with brute power. Or maybe it’s the sheer tactile delight of solid metal, natural fibers, and leather. Or maybe—well, you ponder the appeal, if you find any in it.

To see a great example of way cool antique machinery in live action, check out this vid:

http://stream1.unctv.org/ramgen/webdev/wws/2600/wws_2612_3.rm?usehostname

In all seriousness...early industrial tools are some of the most graceful and masterfully built machines ever produced. The iron casting were always curvacious and elegant, as well as strong and functional. Why cast intricate legs for a machine when a simple strait peg will do? Because back when these machines were made, this was the closest thing a guy had to cheese cake. I’ve been using these machines for a decade and still sometimes find myself amazed at the amount of effort put into even the most simple, utilitarian objects. There are nuts on some of my machines that took at least 4 seperate maching operation to make. Even something as simple as an oil cup is a thing of beauty.

Whats even more amazing is that these machines, like the typewriter Bart posted earlier, were designed without the help of computers, or even calculators.

Pretty impressive.

I like loud leaky and disreputable which is why I like R. Smith.

Point taken though. Imagine living back in 1850 and losing a hammer. Big deal. Progress has its merits.

I hate old tools. They’re loud, not OSHA approved and leak oil all over the earth mother.

I like the new tools that look like they came from space. And the colors are pretty too!

The appeal of the early industrial era is easy to spot.

Up until about mid-19th century tools were hand made, expensive, and therefore craftsman quality if primitive. Early industrial was no longer craftsman but still solid and sensible.

Fast forward to the present where toys are abundant, inexpensive, plastic, and planned obsolescence is the universal spirit of the times. We long for what we can no longer reasonably expect to find, the sensibility and stability of those quaint earlier eras.

As for the appeal of Steampunk, somewhat different story since much of that is neo-Goth, i.e. kids with too much intellect and creativity and um, spare time.

One sentence in that link summed it up nicely “If steampunk has a mission, it is, in part, to restore a sense of wonder to a technology-jaded world. “Today satellite photos make the planet seem so small,”… “

Amen to that.

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