Steampunk In Whitby

Introduction

This weekend Fiona and I had a weekend in Whitby and stayed, as usual at Dillons, which you can check out below.

There was nothing really planned apart from visits to the Magpie Cafe, The Ship Inn to check out their Superb Owl Gin (I didn't drink it because I don't drink alcohol) but I had to mention it because the USA was celebrating the Superb Owl.

Nandor, Lazlo, Natasha, Guillermo, and Colin prepare for the Superb Owl.

The weather was rough and the river Esk was high and I got some great video of the waves coming in.

I also walked up the 199 Steps to the Abbey. and explained to people about the Roman numerals on every tenth step. You can read it about here.

What we hadn't realised or planned was that this was a Whitby Steampunk weekend, which was something that was an absolute visual delight. So this is to share some of it with you.

My Thoughts On What Steampunk Is

Lots of people think anything with cogs on makes it Steampunk, but it's a lot more than that. Essentially it's an analog aesthetic for devices and buildings, the only power is steam and clockwork.

Dress is generally Victorian with modified welding goggles on headwear, often Top Hats and Army helmets.

The term was coined by science fiction author K. W. Jeter,[28] who was trying to find a general term for works by Tim Powers (The Anubis Gates, 1983), James Blaylock (Homunculus, 1986), and himself (Morlock Night, 1979, and Infernal Devices, 1987) — all of which took place in a 19th-century (usually Victorian) setting and imitated conventions of such actual Victorian speculative fiction as H. G. Wells's The Time Machine.

I think that this Steampunk Aesthetic was initially defined by the Disney films of Jules Verne and HG Wells.

The first novel that I thought embraced Steampunk (though the term had not been coined, was "Warlord Of The Air" by Michael Moorcock, which was released in 1971. It was seen as an alternate history novel, but it is one that I revisit often.

This Weekend

At Whitby Pavilion there was a Steampunk Event and lots of people in incredible dress. A few years back I remarked on how impressed I was with their costumes and got the immediate reply "They are NOT costumes".

I had seen a lady with a crinoline made from ties, but never saw her on the Sunday. Going to the Pavilion I met the Funky Rat and his Steampunk car, and from his Instagram videos I managed to steal the two images above, hence the white play button in the middle of them.

The Funky Rat can be seen here, and the car and the people around are very impressive:

The event was full of people in Steampunk Regalia, and the stalls were selling some amazing stuff. The basic problem I had was that while everything impressed I could not find a place for anything in my house.

These are a selection of very impressive handmade hats. My own hat cost me £12 ten years ago, but I could not possibly consider wearing any of these, they are far too impressive for the likes of me.

Then some very Victorian clocks and accessories that look amazing, but I could not find a place for them at home. The exhibition/fair was full of things like this and there was a lot of money changing hands, quite rightly so.

I will leave you with this impressive handbag with its own built on clock. There was so many things to so see, and so many amazingly dressed people, that I felt really luck to have been there to experience this.