Over the years, I’ve noticed that being an artist myself has tended to make me a bit more of a picky reader when it comes to art books. I hold these books to a much higher standard, and not all of them rise to those expectations, so when I say that “The Art of Steampunk” is an excellent art book, I mean fantastic!

“The Art of Steampunk” is a way for those that couldn’t see the steampunk exhibit at the Museum of History of Science in Oxford, England to experience the amazing collection of steampunk creations that were displayed there. The book opens up with an introduction to just what exactly steampunk is, the popularity of it, and the culture that has sprung up around it. “The Art of Steampunk” even goes as far in this introduction to explore the entomology of the word “steampunk.”

The artists that are featured and their creations range greatly: young to old, clockwork to clothing, and of all sorts of complexity. However, the passion that these artists share for their craft is very much exhibited in the short bio articles that precede the pictures of their steampunk works of art. Each picture is crisp and beautifully captures the detail of each piece, and the photographer even managed to manipulate the light so that there are no pesky reflections despite all of the possibly reflective metallic surfaces.

I would be a poor reviewer if I mentioned the quality of the art and the photographs yet neglected to complement the quality of the layout in this book. The pages are colored and occasionally even patterned to give them an older feel that fits perfectly with the Victorian style that steampunk borrows so heavily from. The book designers, Lindsay Hess and Jason Deller, smartly chose a color palette full of coppers, sepias, and golds- a smart choice that provided the perfect finishing touch in establishing the atmosphere of the book.

So, as an artist and as a reader, I would most certainly recommend “The Art of Steampunk” for anyone that is interested in history, costuming, sculpture, or of course, steampunk.