It is natural to get nostalgic around Christmas time, but at the moment I find myself feeling nostalgic for things and places that never were and things that never really existed, for travel in hot air balloons or whaling ships, societies that fully embraced the arts and sciences together, and all the sorts of expression that blossoms when all those things are together. To point: steampunk. So here are some of my favorite images on deviantART that could inspire steampunk or be inspired by steampunk.


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"ars sine scientia nihil est" (trans: "art without knowledge is nothing")
- attributed to Jean Mignot, 14th C.

"There is no science without fancy and no art without fact"
– Vladimir Nabokov

"There are two kinds of truth: the truth that lights the way and the truth that warms the heart. The first of these is science, and the second is art. Neither is independent of the other or more important than the other. Without art science would be as useless as a pair of high forceps in the hands of a plumber. Without science art would become a crude mess of folklore and emotional quackery. The truth of art keeps science from becoming inhuman, and the truth of science keeps art from becoming ridiculous."
-Raymond Thornton Chandler, writer, 1888-1959

Happy Christmas to you!

-Matt

ps - I noticed there are not a lot of men on that list. So to make it up at some point I'll do a post dedicated to (mostly) men in steampunk.