A really beautiful blend of form and function.

Science definitely needs more brass and varnished wood.

I have tried to find catalogs of these kind of instruments online but have been unable to track any down. But since VMI (and many other colleges, I would imagine) no longer use such equipment I am sure there must be some repository or antique company that deals in these things. They are, face it, pretty cool.

I would encourage anyone who is truly interested to approach a Physics department at any large University and simply ask around to see if they have some big room (probably below ground level) where they keep droves of stuff like this. I know VMI did. – You might be able to take some off their hands at a cut rate. It would be a crime not to let loving owners maintain antique equipment like this.

Actually, to be fair, I’m not so against steampunk as I’m against the phrase “Oh, that’s -so- steampunk”. I was one of the smart kids at school and I’ve been left out of enough groups by the popular kids to recognise the signs. Steampunk isn’t a bad thing, it’s a very creative outlet that uses an interesting range of materials and design, it’s got good, bad and crazy sides though and the crazy side is the “movement” thing.

I think the Times (of London, seriously) did the most damage to any affection I had for it. They got the worst advocate they could’ve who basically made it sound like a combination of private club and fashion craze and I just simply ended up thinking that the guy was full of himself, which is a shame because the instruments above are beautiful work.

But “steampunk”? Nah, we need a new word again.

Every classroom should have these.

(Except that they’re like several thousand bucks a piece.)

Still, they are beautiful.