Patently Obvious?

It always amazes me that there is a regular and consistent market for framed patent drawings from bygone years. I wonder if it is a fascination with technical drawings, or perhaps just a sense of nostalgic escape from our modern  technology-filled world. Perhaps it would even explain the rise of the concept of “steam punk” over the last few decades. I mention this only because I recently stumbled across the novel “The Difference Engine,” which is a collaboration between William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. I am unfamiliar with the writings of Sterling but this seems to me to be a big departure form Gibson’s usual mind-bending, cerebral work.

Anyhow, this prompted me to resurrect the patent drawing of George Stephenson’s Locomotive nearly 200 years ago, which I have tidied up a bit.

~Richard