La Tour Eiffel

When thinking back to the original Victorians, we tend to focus on those subjects actually under Victoria's rule -- the English and the English colonists. I'd like to point out, however, that the French has some decidely steampunk activities going on in the same timeframes. The best known? A feat of engineer that you just may have heard of -- The Eiffel Tower. So is it steampunk? You betcha -- made of iron, it was the tallest building in the world from when it was constructed in 1887 until it was replaced by the Chrysler Building in 1930. A piece of engineer that reigns over all the buildings in the world for 40 years? That's pretty audacious.

There's a lot of inspiration in the Eiffel Tower -- for instance, the ironwork is really intricate and beautiful, and can easily influence your choice of outdoor furniture. (I'm hoping to get a table and chair set for my patio, and wrought iron seems like the most steampunkesque choice in that category.)

There's also a lot of ways to integrate the Eiffel Tower into your home decoration -- most of trite at this point, but very readily available. For only $1200 you could put a cast model of the Eiffel Tower in your front yard -- at 71 inches tall it's would definitely be a focal point. For a less overwhelming option, there's an Eiffel tower doorstop or pull chain. For the purist, I can also recommend the facsimile of Gustav Eiffel's folio on the project: La Tour De 300 Metres: Facsimile Edition

90% Steam
10% Punk