Steampunk Resources

As a player of R.Talsorian Games' Castle Falkenstein role-playing game, I started collecting links to 'Web pages that seemed relevant. This has grown into somewhat of a library of steampunk links, which might be of interest to other people. So here it is - an assortment of (mostly) nineteenth century ephemera, weirdness, and off-beat technology.

I'm always happy to acquire extra links for this page - please feel free to e-mail me with possibilities. (Or to tell me if any of these links cease to work - I don't always check such things very frequently.)

One site I'll recommend to everyone, despite its nominally game-related nature, is the Castle Falkenstein Reading list - a good "steampunk fan's bibliography", with some links to on-line text sources.

Art and Appearances

• The History of Costume, by Braun - Falkenstein fans should see especially
• Page 15 and
• Page 16.
• Victoriana, Resources for Victorian Living provides all sorts of interesting links and references.
• The William Morris Gallery has some nice "arts and crafts" images, including a few tile-worthy wallpaper designs that could be used to give, say, a 'Web page a real period flavour.
• The Lady's Gallery Magazine may also be worthy of the attention of the discerning.
• And for something completely different, here are some quasi-steampunk images courtesy somebody's art/animation project.

Science and Technology

• Try The Zeppelin Library.
• Scientific American in the 19th Century.
• The Science Museum, in London, has an interesting 'Web site. There's things like a real (if not very successful) Ornithopter. Good for images, certainly.
• The Musée des Arts et Métiers, in Paris, may also be worth an electronic visit.

People and Places

• Emperor Norton was one of the greatest of Victorian eccentrics. (There's also another, slightly shorter page concerning him, with some nicely chosen illustrations.)
• The Alpine Bavaria 'Net Guide is mostly about the modern day, but does have some stuff on Mad King Ludwig's castles (another topic of special Falkensteinian interest).
• Contemporary photographs relating to the Siege and Commune of Paris.
• World War I qualifies as sort of Late Steampunk, I think. Anyway, this is a good page.
• For a somewhat relevant (and dramatic) bit of history - here's a page on Sir John Franklin.
• The "Flashman" books often seem to come up in discussion of Victorian-setting fiction. The best page I've found to start with when looking for 'Web data on these belongs to The Royal Flashman Society of Upper Canada.
• Elisabeth, the Empress of Austria seems to be the subject of more than one 'Web Page at the moment - for a third example, try Elisabeth '98.
• Talking of that family... There's also a 'Web page for Neuschwanstein Castle.

Games Stuff

• Errata for Castle Falkenstein.
• The best Castle Falkenstein page I know of has many excellent steampunk/Victoriana links.
• Getting slightly peripheral, but somewhat Falkenstein-relevant; here's a page on the Flags of the Native Peoples of the United States".
• ...here's one on Edgar Rice Burroughs.
• ...And here's one on Hypothetical Planets that (probably, mostly) never were.
• Anyone looking for Falkenstein-specific stuff should certainly review Michel Ardan's page of Falkenstein Adventures.
• The World of JERA is someone's personal attempt at a steampunk fantasy setting.
• A Forgotten Futures Home Page...
• ...or two.
• Tales Of Gargentihr is a perverse sort of fantasy eighteenth century. Kind of.
• Iron Empire is another (free) Victorian-era game.

Images

Just for fun, I'm also going to put the odd relevant image here...

The remarkable (and untrustworthy) Lola Montez (alias Eliza Gilbert, alias Mrs James), as depicted by the court painter to one of her lovers, Ludwig I of Bavaria, in 1847.

The same lady, caught some four years later by the less romantic (but observant) camera, after being run out of Bavaria.

And here is... A Falkenstein heroine. Well, she reminds me of some of my favourite Dramatic Characters. Original painting by James Tissot.

The ultimate Steampunk Machine - a Babbage Engine, as built (to Babbage's original plans) by the Science Museum, London.

Actually, this microscope is eighteenth century. I still think it's pure Steampunk, however. Solid silver. As seen in the Science Museum (again).

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