The Gatehouse Gazette: The Jazz Age

Part of the greatness of the Internet is its ability to empower individuals and groups to share information and opinion in ways never before possible. I firmly believe that future historians will look back on the development of the Internet, especially this feature, as a landmark event in human history as important as the invention of the Gutenberg printing press.

An example of the power of the Internet is the free online magazine The Gatehouse Gazette, which publishes articles on both Steampunk and Dieselpunk. First published in July of 2008, the Gazette articles are written by volunteers, many of whom are members of the online forum The Smoking Lounge. While obviously there will be some opinions expressed in the Gazette in which the reader will disagree, the articles are always well written and informative. The Gatehouse Gazette is an intelligent magazine with a sophisticated layout that’s commercial free and is available free to download.

One cannot stress the importance that the Gatehouse has had in the development of Dieselpunk. It was in the first issue that Nick Ottens and Mr. Piecraft published the landmark article “Discovering Dieselpunk.” Over time, there have been additional articles exploring the Dieselpunk genre as well as articles on diesel era history. Without a doubt, Dieselpunks everywhere owe a debt of gratitude to The Gatehouse Gazette.

The current issue (March 2011) is dedicated to “The Jazz Age” of the 1920s. The Roaring Twenties set the tone for the fashion, music, art, industrial design, and so much of what Dieselpunks call the diesel era.

In this issue of The Gatehouse Gazette, one will find very nice articles on diesel era fashion by Hilde Havaert and Ian Brackley. Lorenzo Davia wrote an article on Art Deco while Jacqueline Christi wrote an article about speakeasies and Prohibition. Tome Wilson, who is the founder of the Dieselpunks Forum, wrote an excellent article about World War I. I’m pleased to mention that this issue also includes an article that I wrote titled “The Philosophy of Dieselpunk.” In addition, included in this issue there’s fantastic photography from that era as well as great art in which two creations are by prominent Dieselpunk artists Stefan Prohaczka and Alexey Lipatov.

You can download the issue from their web site in two formats, one that is web based friendly and one that is of higher resolution and excellent for printing. I would also encourage the reader to visit their main page and to download prior issues of the Gazette.