A Steampunk Sort of Saturday

Thu 7 July 2011

A Steampunk Sort of Saturday

Filed under: #satscene —— Sylvia @ 17:33

On the 2nd of July in the year 1698, Thomas Savery patented an early steam engine. The patent does not include illustrations but is described as “a new invention for raiseing of water and occasioning motion to all sorts of mill work by the impellent force of fire, which will be of great use and advantage for drayning mines, serveing townes with water, and for the working of all sorts of mills where they have not the benefitt of water nor constant windes”. Sounds useful? Although the basis for steam engines was there, the general public did not seem particularly impressed with Savery’s invention.

He wrote a book in order to convince the doubters that his steam engine was revolutionary.

THE MINER’S FRIEND OR, AN ENGINE TO RAISE WATER BY FIRE, DESCRIBED. AND OF THE MANNER OF FIXING IT IN MINES; WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE SEVERAL OTHER USES – Google Books

I am very sensible a great many among you do as yet look on my invention of raising water by the impellent force of fire, a useless sort of a project, that never can answer my designs or pretensions … I can easily give grains of allowance for your suspicions, because I know very well what miscarriages there have been by people ignorant of what they pretend to. These I know have been so frequent, so fair and promising at first, but so short of performing what they pretended to, that your prudence and discretion will not now suffer you to believe any thing without a demonstration.

It’s always the same. I am sure there are plenty of people who suspect that perhaps Saturday Scenes is a useless sort of project but we can offer a direct demonstration to prove that is not the case.

On the 2nd of July in the year 2011, these visionaries took photographs simply because it was Saturday. Let me demonstrate: