Come to a Steampunk Masquerade on October 30, 2018! We’ll be joined by the Feathered Beaus, Kat Sass, The Cunning Gentlemen, Mr. M of the White City Rippers (DJ extraordinaire) and Madame Amanita Haegtessa who will be performing readings for VIP ticket holders!

Touring regionally and internationally, the Feathered Beaus are the newest addition to The Cabaret Project’s cannon of talent.Chicago’s own cabaret act made up of Kylie Bear, Olin, Kiki and Dustin. The Beaus sing the gambit of of music styles from blues to jazz to musical theatre to pop! They do it all with style, sassiness, humor and dazzling vocal harmonies.

The Masquerade will be held at Splash Chicago, 3339 N Halsted Street, Chicago. Splash Chicago  strives to be inclusive to all of Boystown’s diverse and ever changing dynamics. Their aim is that their guests have the night they desire. Whether it is on the dance floor, at the bar, or in one of the lounges, they have a spot for you.

Tickets available now!
https://buytix.net/Default.aspx?ShowID=09e506e1-999a-49ab-a54f-f3c219ddfb0f

If you want to tone down the fancypantsery and rock some steampunk casual, slip on a pair of Levis. History, technology and fashion meet in a pair of Levi’s 501 jeans.

Jeans and denim have an odd little history relating to the material. Denim dates back to the 17^th century, as does a material called jean. Originating in Genoa, Italy, jean weaves two same-colored thread. Denim weaves one colored thread with a white one. Both are durable, but over the years denim remained both more durable and expensive. Pants made of jean were appropriately called “jean pants”. Levi Strauss denim pants were called “overalls” until teens started calling them “jeans” in the 1950s.

Levi Strauss was born in Bavaria in southeastern Germany in 1829 and moved to New York where he joined the family in J. Strauss Brother & Co. dry goods. In 1853, he headed west where he continued the business, eventually renaming it Levi Strauss & Co. One of his customers, Jacob Davis, a clever tailor from Reno, NV, offered a game-changing business proposition. Davis added rivets at stress points on pants. He proposed to Strauss that they apply for the patent together. On May 20, 1873, they received patent #139,121 for Improvement in fastening pocket-openings. A riveting development!

Due to a loss of records from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, some of the early history of Levis Strauss has been lost. We know that in 1886, the Two Horse leather patch was used on the pants, or “waist overalls”, as branding. The lot 501 designation was applied to the XX waist  overall in 1890. Levi Straus died on September 25, 1902. However, there has been documentation of the trouser technology. In 1922, belt loops were added, but they still kept the suspender buttons. Beginning in 1937, the back pockets were sewn over the rivets to comply with customer complaints about scratched saddles and furniture. In 1954, the zipper fly was added to the 501Z when sales expanded to the East Coast, where the button fly was not common.

Jeans add an element of historical significance to an outfit. However, if you want the real deal, be prepared to spend a pretty penny. In 1997, Levis Strauss & Co. spent $25,000 for an original pair of 1890 501s!

Brooks Brothers is 200 years old!

Henry Sands Brooks opened H. & D. H. Brooks & Co. on April 7, 1818. They have tailored for 40 out of 45 US presidents, and uniformed Union soldiers in the American Civil War.

Keep it classy!

March sees the birthdays for two magazines that would inspire fandom, Weird Tales and Amazing Stories. Weird Tales introduced H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos and Amazing Stories codified, if not named, science fiction via publisher Hugo Gernsback.

Weird Tales originated though refinancing. J.C. Henneberger and J.M. Lansinger founded the Rural Publishing Corporation in 1922 and led with Detective Tales. To divvy up costs, Henneberger began publication of the horror collection Weird Tales in March 1923. “The Unique Magazine,” as it billed itself, found improved success with editor Farnsworth Wright, who previously served as a music critic for the Chicago Herald and Examiner. H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos manifested in the magazine’s pages when it published “The Call of Cthulhu” in 1928. The original run ended in 1954, but there have been revivals over the years.

Amazing Stories hit the shelves on March 10, 1926, but is had an April 1926 cover date. It evolved through Hugo Gernsback’s publications. Modern Electrics, which began in 1908, was a science magazine that incorporated speculative articles. He sold his portion in 1913 and started up Electrical Experimenter with additional scientific fiction. In 1920, he renamed it Science and Invention. In 1921, he published Practical Electrics, which became The Experimenter in 1924. Gernsback folded The Experimenter, and debuted Amazing Stories in 1926.

Hugo Gernsback has been remembered for the good as well as the bad. He paid writers as little as he could get away with (sometimes nothing). H.P. Lovecraft called him “Hugo the Rat.” Gernsback coined the term “science fiction” (or “scientifiction”) and earned the title “The Father of Science Fiction.” The annual Hugo Award for best science fiction or fantasy is named after him.

Happy birthdays to Weird Tales and Amazing Stories, and thanks to Henneberger and Gernsback for making the world a bit more weird and amazing.

Traveling in the Victorian Era was not for the faint of heart and in the world of Steampunk you may venture by air, land, sea and even through time. Adventure awaits you at Geneva Steam Convention 2018 where swashbuckling airship pirates roam the planet for bounty to pillage, and for those who seek to travel by steamship, car or even camel in search for the latest ancient artifact or the location of the fountain of youth. Which are you? Don’t miss your opportunity to find your inner adventurer as a steampunk. Your adventure awaits!

Geneva Steam Convention 2018
Lake Lawn Resort, Delavan, WI
March 9th, 10th and 11th 2018

http://www.genevasteam.com/

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/geneva-steam-convention-2018-registration-36213538669