Steampunk is a type of science fiction that uses old-style technology and designs from the 1800s. It often takes place in a different version of the Victorian era or the American frontier, where steam power is still widely used, or in a fantasy world that also uses steam power.

Steampunk includes technologies that mix old and future ideas, like those imagined by people in the 19th century. This makes it different from Neo-Victorianism. It also uses styles from the 1800s, such as fashion, art, and building designs. Examples of these technologies include fictional machines from stories by H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. Other examples are steam-powered cannons, airships that float in the sky, analog computers, and mechanical computers like Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine.

Steampunk can also mix with other types of stories, such as fantasy, horror, or alternate history. As a form of speculative fiction, it explores different versions of the past or future and sometimes talks about real-world issues. The word "steampunk" was first used in 1987, but it now refers to many stories written as early as the 1950s. A popular type of steampunk is Japanese steampunk, which includes stories in manga and anime.

Steampunk also describes artistic styles, clothing, or groups of people inspired by steampunk stories, Victorian designs, Art Nouveau art, and movies from the middle of the 20th century. Some modern tools have been changed by artists to look like old-fashioned mechanical items. Many visual and music artists are also described as steampunk.

History

Steampunk is inspired by the style of 19th-century stories written by authors like Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Mary Shelley, and Edward S. Ellis’s The Steam Man of the Prairies. Many important works that helped shape the steampunk genre were created before the term "steampunk" was used. Titus Alone (1959), written by Mervyn Peake, is often considered the first novel in the genre by scholars. Others believe The Warlord of the Air (1971) by Michael Moorcock, which was influenced by Peake’s work, was also important. The film Brazil (1985) was an early example of steampunk in movies, though it is also seen as a precursor to a related style called dieselpunk. The Adventures of Luther Arkwright was an early comic that showed characters moving between different time periods, similar to Moorcock’s work.

In art, Remedios Varo’s paintings mix Victorian clothing, fantasy, and futuristic technology. On television, the CBS series The Wild Wild West (1965–69) was one of the first mainstream shows to include steampunk ideas.

Although many important steampunk works were published in the 1960s and 1970s, the term "steampunk" was first used in the 1980s. It was a playful variation of "cyberpunk," created by science fiction writer K.W. Jeter. He used the term to describe works by Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates, 1983), James Blaylock (Homunculus, 1986), and himself (Morlock Night, 1979 and Infernal Devices, 1987). These books were set in the 19th century and imitated the style of Victorian science fiction, like H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine. Jeter first mentioned the term in a letter to the science fiction magazine Locus in 1987.

While Jeter’s books and those by Powers and Blaylock were the first to be called "steampunk," the authors did not think much about the term at the time. Other writers, like Keith Laumer (Worlds of the Imperium, 1962) and Ronald W. Clark (Queen Victoria’s Bomb, 1967), also explored steam-powered technology and alternate histories. Michael Moorcock’s Warlord of the Air (1971) and Harry Harrison’s A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah! (1973) are other early examples. The Adventures of Luther Arkwright (1970s) was one of the first steampunk comics. In 1980, Richard A. Lupoff and Steve Stiles began a comic called The Adventures of Professor Thintwhistle and His Incredible Aether Flyer. In 2004, an anonymous writer described steampunk as "Colonizing the Past so we can dream the future."

The first use of "steampunk" in a book title was in Paul Di Filippo’s Steampunk Trilogy (1995), which included three short novels: Victoria, Hottentots, and Walt and Emily. These stories imagined a human/newt clone replacing Queen Victoria, Lovecraftian monsters invading Massachusetts, and a love story between Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson.

Japanese steampunk includes manga and anime that feature steam-powered technology. Steampunk ideas have appeared in Japanese comics since the 1940s, starting with Osamu Tezuka’s science fiction trilogy: Lost World (1948), Metropolis (1949), and Nextworld (1951). These elements later influenced anime in the 1970s. Japanese steampunk was inspired by 19th-century European writers like Jules Verne and reflects a fascination with a fictional version of old Europe, called "akogare no Pari" ("the Paris of our dreams").

Hayao Miyazaki was one of the most influential steampunk animators. He began creating steampunk anime in the 1970s, including the TV show Future Boy Conan (1978). His manga Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1982) and its 1984 film adaptation included steampunk elements. Miyazaki’s most famous steampunk work was Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986), described as "one of the first modern steampunk classics." This film features airships, air pirates, steam-powered robots, and steam power as a powerful but risky energy source.

Laputa inspired Hideaki Anno and Studio Gainax to create Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990), a steampunk anime that adapted elements from Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. Nadia influenced later works like Steamboy (2004) by Katsuhiro Otomo. Disney’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) was also influenced by anime, including Miyazaki’s work. Other Japanese steampunk works include Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), Sega’s Sakura Wars (1996), and Square Enix’s Fullmetal Alchemist (2001).

Steampunk was once confused with retrofuturism, a style that imagines the past with futuristic technology. Some scholars see retrofuturism as a part of steampunk, focusing on alternate histories and similar themes.

One of steampunk’s most important contributions is blending digital media with traditional handmade art. Scholars Rachel Bowser and Brian Croxall explain that steampunk encourages people to "roll up their sleeves and get to work re-shaping our contemporary world." In this way, steampunk is similar to DIY crafts and art that uses everyday materials.

Art, entertainment, and media

Many images of steampunk come from Walt Disney's 1954 film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, including the design of the submarine called the Nautilus, its inside, and the crew's underwater equipment.

Steampunk design focuses on making things both look good and work well. This is similar to the Arts and Crafts Movement. However, artists like John Ruskin and William Morris in the late 1800s did not like machines or industrial production. In contrast, steampunk fans support technology but think about it in a thoughtful way. In the Dutch amusement park De Efteling, there is a ride called Baron 1898, which is themed to a steampunk Victorian haunted goldmine.

Many everyday items have been changed by fans to look like Victorian mechanical objects. Examples include computer keyboards and electric guitars. The goal is to use materials like polished brass, iron, wood, and leather, and to make designs that match the Victorian era, avoiding the style of modern industrial design.

In 1994, the Paris Metro station at Arts et Métiers was redesigned by Belgian artist François Schuiten in a steampunk style to honor the works of Jules Verne. The station looks like a submarine, covered in brass with large gears on the ceiling and windows showing imaginative scenes.

The artist group Kinetic Steam Works brought a working steam engine to the Burning Man festival in 2006 and 2007. A member of the group, Sean Orlando, created a steampunk tree house that was later displayed at festivals. The tree house is now permanently located at the Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware.

The Neverwas Haul is a three-story, self-moving art vehicle that looks like a Victorian house on wheels. Designed by Shannon O'Hare, it was built by volunteers in 2006 and shown at the Burning Man festival from 2006 to 2015. It could move at a top speed of 5 miles per hour and needed ten people to operate safely. Today, the Neverwas Haul is at Obtainium Works, an art car factory in Vallejo, California, owned by O'Hare.

In May–June 2008, artist Paul St George created an outdoor interactive video device called a telectroscope, styled like a Victorian invention. This device connected London and Brooklyn, New York. A promoter named Evelyn Kriete used it to organize a steampunk event between fans in both cities before a steampunk-themed event called Around the World in 80 Days.

In 2009, artist Tim Wetherell made a large wall piece for Questacon that showed the idea of a clockwork universe. The artwork includes moving gears, a working clock, and a movie of the moon's edge. The 3D moon movie was created by Antony Williams.

Between 2009 and 2011, the term "steampunk" was often used to describe handmade items sold on Etsy. However, many of these items did not match the original ideas of steampunk. Comedian April Winchell collected examples of these items on her website "Regretsy," which became popular among steampunk fans and even inspired a music video.

From October 2009 to February 2010, the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford hosted the first major steampunk art exhibition. Curator Art Donovan organized the event, and it featured work by 18 artists from around the world. The exhibition was the most successful in the museum's history, with over 80,000 visitors. Details about the event were written in The Art of Steampunk, an artist's journal.

In November 2010, the Libratory Steampunk Art Gallery opened in Oamaru, New Zealand. It looks like a large cave made of papier-mâché and includes old industrial equipment, rayguns, and other steampunk items. A year later, a more permanent gallery called Steampunk HQ opened nearby and became a popular tourist spot.

Steampunk fashion has no strict rules but often mixes modern styles with Victorian influences. These influences include items like bustles, corsets, gowns, and petticoats, as well as suits with waistcoats, coats, top hats, and bowler hats. Accessories like timepieces, parasols, goggles, and ray guns are also common. Modern items like cell phones or music players may be redesigned to look like Victorian objects. Post-apocalyptic elements, such as gas masks and tribal patterns, can also appear in steampunk fashion. Mainstream fashion styles like Lolita, neo-Victorianism, and Romantic Goth have also included steampunk elements.

In 2005, Kate Lambert, known as "Kato," started the first steampunk clothing company called "Steampunk Couture," combining Victorian and post-apocalyptic styles. In 2013, IBM predicted that steampunk would become a major trend in retail based on online data. High fashion brands like Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Chanel, and Christian Dior had already included steampunk styles in their runway shows.

In a 2012 episode of America's Next Top Model, models competed in a steampunk-themed photo shoot, posing near a steam train with live owls. In episode 7 of Under the Gunn, contestants created "steampunk chic" outfits.

In 1988, the first version of the science fiction tabletop game Space: 1889 was published. The game is set in an alternate history where Victorian scientific theories led to new technologies. Authors included Frank Chadwick, Loren Wiseman, and Marcus Rowland.

The novel The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling (1990) is often credited with popularizing steampunk. The book imagines a Victorian world where Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage's steam-powered mechanical computer, the difference engine, was built and led to the Information Age centuries earlier. This setting is darker than most steampunk stories.

Culture and community

Steampunk has become a popular movement among adults who want to make it a culture and lifestyle. Some people who enjoy steampunk use its style in their clothing, home decorations, music, and films. Steampunk combines Victorian design ideas with modern technology and thinking. It is also called neo-Victorianism, which a scholar named Marie-Luise Kohlke described as "the influence of the 19th century on today’s culture." The subculture has its own magazines, blogs, and online stores.

In September 2012, a panel discussion led by steampunk entertainer Veronique Chevalier and including magician Pop Hadyn and members of the steampunk group the League of STEAM took place at Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo. The panel suggested that steampunk includes ideas from other groups like goth, neo-Victorian, and cyberpunk, as well as many fandoms, and is becoming more than just a subculture. Other steampunk figures, such as Professor Elemental, have also said steampunk is inclusive and diverse.

Some people believe steampunk has a philosophy that includes anti-establishment ideas, similar to punk culture, and focuses on human potential. A 2004 "Steampunk Manifesto," later published in SteamPunk Magazine, criticized steampunk that only focused on nostalgic looks and said true steampunk would "take control of technology from powerful people." American activist Miriam Rosenberg Rocek dressed as Emma Goldman, an anarcha-feminist, to discuss gender and politics. SteamPunk Magazine was run by anarchists, and its founder, Margaret Killjoy, said steampunk has always had radical ideas. Diana M. Pho, a science-fiction editor and writer of the blog Beyond Victoriana, said steampunk’s roots include progressive ideas from writers like Jules Verne. Authors like Phenderson Djèlí Clark, Jaymee Goh, Dru Pagliassotti, and Charlie Stross also write about political themes in their work.

Not everyone agrees with these views. Killjoy said some fans believe steampunk is only about fashion. Pho said some fans avoid talking about their ideas as being political. The largest steampunk online group, Brass Goggles, which focuses on the "lighter side" of steampunk, banned political discussions. Cory Gross, who wrote about steampunk history, said the "old-fashioned" look criticized in the manifesto was actually part of the genre. Author Catherynne M. Valente said the "punk" in steampunk is not meaningful. Kate Franklin and James Schafer, who managed a large steampunk group on Facebook, said in 2011 that steampunk had not created the progressive community they hoped for. Blogger Eric Renderking Fisk said in 2017 that steampunk was no longer punk because it lost its anti-authority ideas.

Some people prefer to see steampunk as a form of escape or a fandom rather than a political movement. In 2018, Nick Ottens, editor of the magazine Never Was, said the "lighter side" of steampunk had become more popular. When steampunk is political, it is mostly seen in the United States and the United Kingdom. People in Europe and Latin America are more likely to see steampunk as a hobby.

On June 19, 2005, the first steampunk club night, Malediction Society, opened in Los Angeles. The event lasted for almost 12 years at The Monte Cristo nightclub, with a short break at Argyle Hollywood, until both the club and the nightclub closed in April 2017. Though the steampunk style was later replaced by a more general goth and industrial look, Malediction Society celebrated its roots each year with "The Steampunk Ball."

In 2006, the first "SalonCon," a neo-Victorian/steampunk convention, took place. It lasted three years and included artists, musicians like Voltaire and Abney Park, and authors like Catherynne M. Valente, Ekaterina Sedia, and G. D. Falksen. The event had workshops, panels, and activities like a séance, ballroom dancing, and the Chrononauts’ Parade. MTV and The New York Times covered the event. Since then, many steampunk conventions have been held worldwide, including Steamcon in Seattle, the Steampunk World’s Fair in Piscataway, New Jersey, Up in the Aether in Dearborn, Michigan, Steampunk NZ in Oamaru, New Zealand, and Steampunk Unlimited in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. Each year, Waltham, Massachusetts, hosts the Watch City Steampunk Festival during Mother’s Day weekend. The Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk, Maine, hosts the Southern Maine Steampunk Fair annually. In Nimmitabel, Australia, the town celebrates Steampunk @ Altitude with about 2,000 people each year.

In recent years, steampunk has become a regular part of San Diego Comic-Con. The Saturday of the event is known as "Steampunk Day" and ends with a photo shoot for the local press. In 2010, this was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest steampunk photo shoot. In 2013, Comic-Con sold four official T-shirts, one featuring the steampunk version of its mascot. The Saturday "after-party" has become a major event for steampunks. In 2010, performers like The Slow Poisoner and Aurelio Voltaire headlined the event, with Veronique Chevalier as host and the League of STEAM making an appearance. In 2011, the group UXG returned with Abney Park.

Steampunk has also appeared at Renaissance Festivals and Faires in the United States. Some festivals have events called "Steampunk Day," while others allow people