The Thames Tunnel

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During the Victorian Age, when science and technology advanced at a rapid pace, many engineering projects were novel and revolutionary.  The Thames Tunnel was one such groundbreaking (pun intended) engineering feat of the Victorian Age, and the one upon which the great Victorian engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, cut his teeth. Continue reading →

Thaddeus Lowe–Abraham Lincoln’s Aeronaut

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Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe is one of those people that, by his accomplishments, everyone should know, but that somehow has been almost forgotten. He was born in northern New Hampshire in 1832, and at the age of 18, went with his younger brother to a traveling lecture and demonstration about lighter-than-air gases by one Professor Reginald Dinkelhoff. When the esteemed Professor asked for a volunteer from the audience, Lowe jumped up, impressing the lecturer sufficiently to offer him a job as his assistant. When the Professor retired a few years later, Lowe bought the show—and the title Professor of Chemistry—from him and continued working the lecture circuit.

Thaddeus Lowe, ca. 1855

Thaddeus Lowe, ca. 1855

After a while, he began experimenting with building lighter-than-air balloons, and incorporated them into the act, offering rides to passengers at county fairs and the like. Imagine the excitement of a rural New England farmer of the late 1850s at being able to rise into the air tethered by only a thin rope to the ground.

I’m always somehow reminded of Professor Marvel from The Wizard of Oz at this point in Lowe’s story. Continue reading →

Beautiful Scientific Illustrations on Retronaut

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V0025020 Astronomy: a diagram of various atmospheric effects. Coloure

If you’re not familiar with the website Retronaut  (and you really should be), it’s a collection of all manner of vintage photographs and illustrations spanning millenia. One can easily spend vast amounts of time perusing this site!

The site recently featured a number of beautiful colored engravings on scientific topics by John Philipps Emslie, a Victorian age illustrator.  I find his work beautiful and strangely modern in the methods he uses to impart information. Reproduced above is his Diagram of Meteorology.  Retronaut has a couple of collections of his work.

Infographics of the Natural World

Scientific Diagrams

Enjoy!

Welcome!

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Welcome to the first post on my Airship Flamel Blog.

Why the name Airship Flamel? The Airship Flamel, or more accurately, Her Majesty’s Research Airship Flamel, is the conveyance of one Professor Nicodemus Boffin, Scientist General of what is called by default “The Endeavour”, as no better name could be agreed upon.

And who might this Boffin fellow be? Only the protagonist in my upcoming novel To Rule the Skies, a story of adventure, daring exploits, and Science! I discussed the genesis of this story in a guest blog post I did for T.E. MacArthur’s The Volcano Lady blog.  last November. In short, Professor Nicodemus Boffin is a British scientist tasked by Her Majesty’s Government to increase the scientific knowledge and technical might of the Empire. As it happens, the unique abilities of Boffin and the crew of the Airship Flamel are often utilized for other, more dangerous missions.

I will talk about Professor Boffin much more in the coming months as the book approaches publication. But I don’t expect this blog to be solely about my books (Yes, books (plural). There is one additional book in progress, a prequel to To Rule the Skies, and several more floating around in my head. It’s not a coincidence that the book is subtitled An Airship Flamel Adventure…) I hope this blog will also be a source of useful and enjoyable topics of interest to the readers of my books–science, history, steampunk, history of science, science of history, steampunk science, Victoriana, making…you get the idea.

I am pleased that you have found your way here. I promise many adventures to come.