Science fiction from Mary Shelly's Frankenstein to the present has allowed us to imagine the potential wonders and pitfalls of our technology. Recently though, it is the styles of those Victorian origins that have dominated the aesthetic of the science fiction audience. Costumes and fashion accessories from goggles to steampunk buttons can now be had.
This style in art is usually set in Victorian England, or the Wild West in 19th century United States. It consists of machines powered by steam or springs. Art and fashion that is derived from this genre often mimics that of the Victorian age.
The genre originated when the novels of Jules Verne and H. G. Welles were remade in the 1960's. It wasn't until K. W. Jeter needed a name for his style of anachronistic Victorian novel that the term was coined. The genre began to coalesce with Victorian styles providing the dominant motif. These novels often took place in an alternate history or in a future that assumed steam power remained dominant through the information age.
This style operates under the assumption that the steam and spring powered machines of the late 19th and early 20th centuries continued to develop into the future. Lighter than air aircraft, steam powered computers, spring loaded mechanical prosthesis, and many other fantastic things are the hallmarks of this genre. Art and fashion based on this aesthetic have blossomed into an industry.
The popularity of this kind of art hadn't really developed until the Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling made an appearance in 1990. This dystopian novel explores an alternate history where the mechanical computer originally imagined by Charles Babbage was actually built. In this time line, mechanical computers become ubiquitous and the information age takes place in the 19th century with disastrous political consequences.
This genre has become quite popular. References to it in pop culture as well as their own convention and fashion industry have resulted from its recent popularity. Art, DIY Victorian keyboards and jewelery from broaches to steampunk buttons can easily be found.
This style in art is usually set in Victorian England, or the Wild West in 19th century United States. It consists of machines powered by steam or springs. Art and fashion that is derived from this genre often mimics that of the Victorian age.
The genre originated when the novels of Jules Verne and H. G. Welles were remade in the 1960's. It wasn't until K. W. Jeter needed a name for his style of anachronistic Victorian novel that the term was coined. The genre began to coalesce with Victorian styles providing the dominant motif. These novels often took place in an alternate history or in a future that assumed steam power remained dominant through the information age.
This style operates under the assumption that the steam and spring powered machines of the late 19th and early 20th centuries continued to develop into the future. Lighter than air aircraft, steam powered computers, spring loaded mechanical prosthesis, and many other fantastic things are the hallmarks of this genre. Art and fashion based on this aesthetic have blossomed into an industry.
The popularity of this kind of art hadn't really developed until the Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling made an appearance in 1990. This dystopian novel explores an alternate history where the mechanical computer originally imagined by Charles Babbage was actually built. In this time line, mechanical computers become ubiquitous and the information age takes place in the 19th century with disastrous political consequences.
This genre has become quite popular. References to it in pop culture as well as their own convention and fashion industry have resulted from its recent popularity. Art, DIY Victorian keyboards and jewelery from broaches to steampunk buttons can easily be found.
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