Watch a 238 year old automaton play a dulcimer

From Mary Robinette Kowal…

This animated dulcimer player is called the Joueuse de Tympanon. She was built in 1772 by Pierre Kintzing and David Roentgen for Marie Antoinette. At just eighteen inches tall, she plays eight different songs. She was restored in 1864 by Robert-Houdin and is now at the Musée des Arts et Métiers

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Steampunkism

DeviantArt is having a contest to create artwork that is both Steampunk and Impressionist. It should be interesting to see what people come up with. See more about the contest here.

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More Steampunk Paper Art from Philip Valdez

More Steampunk Paper Art from Philip Valdez

Victorian Mech

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Airship USS Los Angeles Over New York

The airship USS Los Angeles (ZR-3) flies over the southern tip of Manhattan. Built in 1923-1924 by the Zeppelin factory in Friedrichshafen, Germany, where it was originally designated LZ-126. The airship was given to the United States by the German Government, as it was partially funded by war reparations from World War I.

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Steampunk Brandy Muller/Cigar Holder

It’s difficult to tell, because I don’t speak Russian, but according to the Google translation this is a brandy holder/mulling device complete with a cigar holder. (Original Post)

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Hot Air Engines

Want to see it in action? Watch the videos below.

Top: A 4 cylinder Stirling Engine driving a big flywheel.

Bottom: A 2 cylinder version driving a small generator.

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Image: Steam Engine Details

I’ve been searching the intertubes looking for a good image to use as an avatar for the blog. I think I found one. You can see it in the right column. It’s a photo of the brass sight-glass from the boiler of a small steam engine that was on display at the Haddenham Steam Rally back in 2007. The full image is below. It may end up as a header image eventually.

Small Steam Engine Detail

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