# I want to have a steampunk lamp. But what is steampunk anyway? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 27, 2022, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452 "2022-08-27T23:50:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/41 "2022-08-28T23:32:03Z")
I was not aware. How about this: [![](https://i.postimg.cc/sfBGg3pr/s1.png) ](https://i.postimg.cc/sfBGg3pr/s1.png) [![](https://i.postimg.cc/8TvcYybZ/s2.png) ](https://i.postimg.cc/8TvcYybZ/s2.png) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/42 "2022-08-28T23:32:31Z")
Yep, those work fine! ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/43 "2022-08-29T01:12:34Z")
For what it’s worth, all of @DPRK’s images show up fine for me, both the ones posted earlier and the more recent ones. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/44 "2022-08-29T08:27:06Z")
No, I just get > This site can’t be reached > **i.ompldr.pw** took too long to respond. > ERR\_CONNECTION\_TIMED\_OUT Must be a uk thing. Edit: I can see those last pics fine ! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/45 "2022-08-29T11:35:30Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Steampunk = Jules Verne Uggh, no. Verne wrote straight-up, _forward-lookin_g science fiction. Steampunk is necessarily retro _at the time it’s written_. Verne is a big - the biggest - _influence_ on steampunk, but is not, himself, steampunk. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/46 "2022-08-29T12:24:17Z")
For people arguing over what steampunk is or isn’t: > **[Steampunk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk)** > > Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or the American "Wild West", where steam power remains in mainstream use, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power. > Steampunk features anachronistic technologies or retrofuturistic inventions as people in the 19th century... > Steampunk most recognizably features [anachronistic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anachronism) technologies or retrofuturistic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them — distinguishing it from [Neo-Victorianism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Victorian)[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk#cite_note-Nally-4) — and is likewise rooted in the era’s perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art. I don’t have a lead on steampunk lamps, but for a long time I’ve appreciated **[Datamancer’s steampunk-styled keyboards](https://www.google.com/search?q=datamancer+keyboards&sxsrf=ALiCzsYazrbZZU_spXaUI0YMQ_eS-rCPGw:1661775638363&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjpq_vUhOz5AhVUE1kFHRsZAl4Q_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1920&bih=937&dpr=1)**. Per the OP’s descriptions, they have a variety of Victorian styling cues, but are not overwrought; they all look like something that someone might have used 100-130 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/47 "2022-08-29T13:01:01Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > IOW you want a decorative-looking kerosene lamp (or Argand lamp)? I was going to suggest this. But if you REALLY want the Steampunk aesthetic, you need a Carcel Lamp. It has a clockwork mechanism to deliver the Colza oil (which was pretty thick, I understand) to the flame that is perfect for Steampunkerry. > **[Carcel lamp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcel_lamp)** > > The Carcel lamp was an efficient lighting device used in the nineteenth century for domestic purposes and in France as the standard measure for illumination. > The lamp was invented by the French watchmaker Bernard Guillaume Carcel (1750–1818) to overcome the disadvantages of the Argand-type lamps then in use. The vegetable - mostly colza - oils then available were thick and would not travel far up a wick. The Argand lamps used a gravity feed which meant that the oil reservoir was located above th... I have an Argand lamp, myself – a little pricey, but not ridiculous. I wanted one because it was the first in a series of lighting advances in the 19th century 9actualy, in this case, late 18th century) that caused a revolution in artificial lighting. the incandescent lamp was only one of the advances in this chain. The Argand lamp burned many times brighter than a candle or a standard kerosene lamp, because it used a cylindrical wick that was air-fed from the center. It had both a larger flame area, and the flame was hotter (hence, brighter). A perfect example of steampunk-style geekery. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/48 "2022-08-29T15:33:51Z")
Those keyboards look like something from the show _Warehouse 13_. Actually, many of the devices the warehouse agents used on that show could probably be described as “steampunk”. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/49 "2022-08-29T15:51:48Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Those keyboards look like something from the show _Warehouse 13_ Yes, [that was a Datamancer creation](https://warehouse13.fandom.com/wiki/Warehouse_13_Computer). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/50 "2022-08-30T00:18:41Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Verne is a big - the biggest - _influence_ on steampunk Yes, that is exactly what I said. Or did you miss that I used the word “influence” several times, and that the piece you quoted was surrounded by me talking about influences? Of course influences are not considered the thing they evolve into at the time they are created. But whether we–today–call Verne Steampunk or proto-Steampunk or something else is an irrelevant distinction. My point was simply that if you want to transmit the aesthetic of Steampunk to someone unfamiliar with it, you would not go wrong to simply say “Jules Verne”, or more specifically “would that artifact make sense as a fixture on the _Nautilus_?” That said, I also can’t disagree that the word largely has moved on to refer to gluing on gears and shit. Perhaps the issue is that in practice, it is as much a fashion aesthetic as a worldbuilding exercise, and fashion never made much sense. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/51 "2022-08-30T01:02:22Z")
I wonder if Flavor Flav is steampunky? I suspect he has some quartz in there most of the time. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Flava_Flav%2C_and_helicopter_pilot_Ray_McCort_on_MTV_shoot_in_NYC.jpg/800px-Flava_Flav%2C_and_helicopter_pilot_Ray_McCort_on_MTV_shoot_in_NYC.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Flava_Flav%2C_and_helicopter_pilot_Ray_McCort_on_MTV_shoot_in_NYC.jpg/800px-Flava_Flav%2C_and_helicopter_pilot_Ray_McCort_on_MTV_shoot_in_NYC.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/52 "2022-08-30T01:40:40Z")
Here’s a nifty rabbit hole you might want to investigate: [http://timetunnel.bigredhair.com/boilerplate/intro.html](http://timetunnel.bigredhair.com/boilerplate/intro.html) BTW, didn’t most appearances of Dr. Loveless on _The Wild Wild West_ have a steampunk theme? That giant, mechanical spider from that Godawful TWWW movie sure seems to be steampunk oriented. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/53 "2022-08-30T02:32:48Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > [https://i.postimg.cc/sfBGg3pr/s1.png](https://i.postimg.cc/sfBGg3pr/s1.png) > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Yep, those work fine! ⁢ That surprises me. That one I quoted seems like it’s just as overwrought as the other ones you didn’t like–a ton of extra doodads that do nothing. That to me is what steampunk is. Sure, in theory the doodads are supposed to be functional, but, in actuality, they’re always just aesthetic. And you usually have no idea what they do. The [other one](https://i.postimg.cc/8TvcYybZ/s2.png) I do get, as it seems far more simple than the others. It looks like it could just be a gas lamp that got converted to LED. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/54 "2022-08-30T02:40:27Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > That surprises me. That one I quoted seems like it’s just as overwrought as the other ones you didn’t like–a ton of extra doodads that do nothing. I meant the embedded picture worked fine, not that it was a good example of Steampunk! The previous images simply didn’t show up at all due to some technical glitch. I agree that it has that same overwrought look. The lamp–actually a portable “flashlight”–that I want is the _Galvanick Lucifer_ from the book _Cryptonomicon_. It is essentially a portable arc lamp using some high-powered, short-lived chemical reaction to provide the electricity. It’s described as being steampunky, with brass fittings and glass jars of chemicals. Recreating that with modern LEDs and batteries would be great. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/55 "2022-08-30T05:27:32Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > But whether we–today–call Verne Steampunk or proto-Steampunk or something else is an irrelevant distinction. No, it’s not. There’s a difference between _calling_ it steampunk (proto-steampunk is not a real thing as the _retro_-anachronism part is essential, making proto-steampunk oxymoronic) and calling it an _influence_ on steampunk. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Or did you miss that I used the word “influence” several times, and that the piece you quoted was surrounded by me talking about influences? I didn’t miss anything. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > My point was simply that if you want to transmit the aesthetic of Steampunk to someone unfamiliar with it, you would not go wrong to simply say “Jules Verne”, or more specifically “would that artifact make sense as a fixture on the _Nautilus_?” Very little of the modern steampunk aesthetic, with its fake prostheses and general grunginess, is Vernean. Only the decor sometimes approaches Verne’s combination of pure [Victoriana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:20000_Nautilus_Salon.jpg) with a clean [industrial look](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:20000_Nautilus_engines.jpg). I do get what you’re trying to say. But _actually calling_ Verne steampunk, as you’ve just done again, is not the way to say it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/56 "2022-08-30T09:56:14Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > No, it’s not. There’s a difference between _calling_ it steampunk (proto-steampunk is not a real thing as the _retro_-anachronism part is essential, making proto-steampunk oxymoronic) and calling it an _influence_ on steampunk. The retro-anachronism is not essential to the aesthetic. It is, arguably, essential to the genre as a whole, but in terms of appearance it doesn’t matter much _when_ this advanced Victorian technology was imagined. In any case, alt-history is indistinguishable from sci-fi set insufficiently far into the future. > [@MrDibble](#): > > Very little of the modern steampunk aesthetic, with its fake prostheses and general grunginess, is Vernean. I think it’s worth distinguishing fashion from other artifacts. The fashion is definitely grungy and non-Vernean. I suppose that’s to be evocative of mechanics, train engineers, gentleman scientists, etc. The artifacts, on the other hand, seem to typically range from well-used to pristine, but generally not what I’d call grungy. I take back one thing. If I had to describe the aesthetic of steampunk in a sentence or two at a party, I wouldn’t say Verne. Instead, I’d mention the end of Back to the Future III. That cool flying train with the magnets and valves and stuff? Steampunk. Of course, even _within the movie_ it was directly inspired by Verne, but regardless, it’s probably a more accessible example for most. And falls directly within the genre. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/57 "2022-08-30T11:05:04Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > The retro-anachronism is not essential to the aesthetic. It is, arguably, essential to the genre as a whole, but in terms of appearance it doesn’t matter much _when_ this advanced Victorian technology was imagined. OK, I get a better sense for what you mean, now, and don’t disagree. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > The artifacts, on the other hand, seem to typically range from well-used to pristine, but generally not what I’d call grungy. I’d call any of those iron-plumbing-pipe-lamps, linked to earlier in the thread, “grungy”. Basically most anything with exposed ducting and piping, so beloved of many steampunks and so antithetical to actual Victorian aesthetics. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > the end of Back to the Future III. That cool flying train with the magnets and valves and stuff? Steampunk. Oh, very. I’ve had many occasions to explain Steampunk to others in social settings like parties, and in the past, I’ve found the _Wild Wild West_ movie to actually be the most recognizable reference for many people not otherwise into genre stuff. That and video game references. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/58 "2022-08-30T11:07:06Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > That and video game references. Myst. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/59 "2022-08-30T11:13:00Z")
Well, this is an interesting thread! The OP had me thinking, “Huh?!”, but after fifty odd posts I get it. Just a thought: Instead of looking everywhere and never finding what you really want and then probably settling for less, you kind of make a sketch design and take it to someone who could make it a reality for you. The cost overall would be more, of course, which is a negative but, if you can afford it and end up with your dream lamp, it would be worth it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452/60 "2022-08-30T11:22:08Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > > [@MrDibble](#): > > > > That and video game references. > > Myst. Sure. Also _Bioshock Infinite_, _Arcanum_, _Final Fantasy VI_ and later ones, _Thief_ series and that Victorian _Assassin’s Creed_ release - _Syndicate_, IIRC. Hell, even some of _World of Warcraft_’s aesthetic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-have-a-steampunk-lamp-but-what-is-steampunk-anyway/970452.md?page=4)