Thinky Thoughts on Victorian Occupations and Random Placement of Gears
Good day everybody.
Lately I've been having random thoughts (always a dangerous activity on my part) about occupations for Steampunks. It seems that at least once a week somebody is adrift on a persona for their Steampunk character, so I offer (possible) help. This list is from the 1891 Census in London offering hundreds of actual occupations. Now, it doesn't take much imagination to transfer some of the more mundane jobs to the world of Steampunk.
Some of may personal favorites:
Rat Catcher...mundane perhaps, but this might be a worthy occupation aboard an airship. Can't have rodentia chewing on cargo and those Hydrogen lines now can we.
Antigropelos Maker...A person who made waterproof leggings. (Necessary in an open cockpit environment I would think.)
Chair Bodger...Traveling chair repairman. (Must keep that Captain's seat in good repair!)
Hetheleder...One who provided heather for fuel. (Can a steam boiler run on Heather?)
Anyway, the possibilities are somewhat endless given a little creative and steamy thought. Which brings me to the subject of gears used on clothing. Now, as a retired mechanical engineer, I sometimes cringe at the random placement of gears on costume, but what if the placement wasn't random? Going back to the occupations list we find:
Coster Monger or Costermonger...A fruit seller, or peddler, hawker, seller of goods on the street. Costermonger leads us to the Victorian Cockney use of pearl buttons on costumes such as the Pearly King or Queen. Now, can you imagine a more fitting use of brass bits and bobs than this if you replaced the buttons they used with gears and such? Please note that the placement isn't random here either, there were established patterns:
Horseshoe = Luck
Doves = Peace
Heart = Charity
Anchor = Hope
Cross = Faith
Wheel = Coster's barrow
Symbols of Playing Cards = Life is a gamble
Flower Pots = Costermongers
Donkey Carts = Costermongers
It seems to me that patterns could be developed for Airship and Steampunk topics as well if one was so inclined.
So, I leave you with things to ponder and explore. I reckon that my work here is done, so until next we meet again, I remain...
Faithfully yours,
Miss Emma Mugglethorpe
Captain, Chief Armorer (and now, Chief Rat Catcher)
of the Independent Airship, Reluctant
Lately I've been having random thoughts (always a dangerous activity on my part) about occupations for Steampunks. It seems that at least once a week somebody is adrift on a persona for their Steampunk character, so I offer (possible) help. This list is from the 1891 Census in London offering hundreds of actual occupations. Now, it doesn't take much imagination to transfer some of the more mundane jobs to the world of Steampunk.
Some of may personal favorites:
Rat Catcher...mundane perhaps, but this might be a worthy occupation aboard an airship. Can't have rodentia chewing on cargo and those Hydrogen lines now can we.
Antigropelos Maker...A person who made waterproof leggings. (Necessary in an open cockpit environment I would think.)
Chair Bodger...Traveling chair repairman. (Must keep that Captain's seat in good repair!)
Hetheleder...One who provided heather for fuel. (Can a steam boiler run on Heather?)
Anyway, the possibilities are somewhat endless given a little creative and steamy thought. Which brings me to the subject of gears used on clothing. Now, as a retired mechanical engineer, I sometimes cringe at the random placement of gears on costume, but what if the placement wasn't random? Going back to the occupations list we find:
Coster Monger or Costermonger...A fruit seller, or peddler, hawker, seller of goods on the street. Costermonger leads us to the Victorian Cockney use of pearl buttons on costumes such as the Pearly King or Queen. Now, can you imagine a more fitting use of brass bits and bobs than this if you replaced the buttons they used with gears and such? Please note that the placement isn't random here either, there were established patterns:
Horseshoe = Luck
Doves = Peace
Heart = Charity
Anchor = Hope
Cross = Faith
Wheel = Coster's barrow
Symbols of Playing Cards = Life is a gamble
Flower Pots = Costermongers
Donkey Carts = Costermongers
It seems to me that patterns could be developed for Airship and Steampunk topics as well if one was so inclined.
So, I leave you with things to ponder and explore. I reckon that my work here is done, so until next we meet again, I remain...
Faithfully yours,
Miss Emma Mugglethorpe
Captain, Chief Armorer (and now, Chief Rat Catcher)
of the Independent Airship, Reluctant