The Steampunk Librarian

Weeksville

Many thanks to Satori for pointing me toward the fascinating story of Weeksville. Both the past and the future of this place is amazing!

Once more around the sun

It's Ay-leen the Peacemaker's birthday today! Stop by Beyond Victoriana and celebrate!

sites [sic] to see!

This week, I point you to other websites which are chock-full of historical and/or steampunk information!

 

The Edwardian Promenade always has something interesting.

 

The Smithsonian’s “Paleofuture” weblog is fantastic. Here, a link to Tesla’s predictions for the 21st century.

 

The British Newspaper Archives has a blog now, huzzah.

 

Mrs. Daffodil Digresses can be about many things; here’s a post on “murderabilia” collectibles in the 1910s.

of art and travel

It’s convention season! The Steampunk Empire Symposium just wrapped up, and the Steampunk World’s Fair is fast approaching.

 

Steampunk Art Supplies. Does what it says on the tin!

 

The Kickstarter project for A Study in Emerald has been funded, so keep an eye out for some spooky steampunk goodness.

Greetings! Not dead, not abandoning the weblog, just busy with this modern life concept. I'll return soon.

Giveaway Video: Vintage Tomorrows

A return to links

Hello! The drawing for Vintage Tomorrows will be held either tonight or tomorrow, and will be posted sometime this week. Then it’s a break from giveaways for a short while. Thanks to everyone who participated, and there will be more in the future!

 

So while we were occupied with book-wrangling, a lot happened in the steampunk world. For instance, the papal conclave was held, and Business Insider (!) did a story on the “steampunk contraption” used by the conclave in selecting a new pope.

 

Jim Butcher, author of The Dresden Files series, signed on for a new series in the world of steampunk.

 

Armor Games came out with Steampunk Tower, another fun (and free!) steampunk-themed game. I got to Level 4 before falling apart, strategy-wise.

 

Have you seen the Cryptohistorians yet? They are all sorts of awesome, and deserve huge amounts of attention.

 

Gears and Steammoved from LiveJournal to Tumblr. And speaking of Tumblr, the beautiful Nowhereland posts gorgeous Art Deco images, and also photographs such as this beauty from the 1880s and this rebel from the 1890s. It’s definitely worth a look!

Book Giveaway Contest: Vintage Tomorrows

I am back and healthy…and buried in work. However, it’s time for the last book giveaway (for a while, at least), and it’s a great one.

 

 

Vintage Tomorrows is the book to hand to anyone who asks about steampunk. Whether it’s about the maker culture, the fashion trends, the history behind the alternative history, the literature, the art, the music, or anything else you can think of, this book does its best to cover it. (In fact, there was so much to include that there’s a supplementary ebook available – for free! –as well. See below for details.)

 

Written by historian James H. Carrott and futurist Brian David Johnson, Vintage Tomorrows looks at the history that never was, and also at the future which still may be. It’s a great read, and highly recommended.

 

We have one copy to give away! This one is easy: to enter the giveaway, post a comment below and tell us, in one sentence, what steampunk means to you.  (Mine is one word: “Optimism.”) The deadline for the giveaway is Monday, April 1st (no joke). Good luck!

 

The free companion book to Vintage Tomorrows, titled Steampunking Our Future, is available for download!

 

More information on Vintage Tomorrows is available at O’Reilly’s website.

 

More information on James H. Carrott can be found on his website or via his Twitter account.

 

More information on Brian David Johnson can be found on the Tomorrow Project website and on his Twitter account.

Giveaway Winners of Power Under Pressure

Greetings! I currently have the plague (and not much of a voice), so there's no usable video of the drawing. But it did take place, I can have Sir Reginald the puppet vouch for it, and the winners of our two copies of Power Under Pressure are RL Brown and Page Turner. Congratulations to both of them, and many thanks to everyone who participated! We have one more book to give away, and once I am back up to speed, I'll post the information. Thanks again!

Stay tuned...

...for the Society of Steam drawing and a new book to give away! They'll be posted soon.