Zeppelins and airships and blimps, oh my! Different names for the same thing – all based on the original designs of Count Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin, an aeronautical engineer and airship designer born born July 8, 1838.
Ballooning was popular in the late 1800s, but von Zeppelin was interested in guided air travel. After a long period of trial and error, he received a patent for the first “airship train” in 1895. The military quickly adopted the airships for use in wartime, and civilian rides were not far after. The most famous zeppelin was the Hindenburg, which caught fire in the air and killed many people. Of course, today airships show up most in fanciful and fantastic steampunk stories and art.
Zeppelin by magarmor
Epic Fail – Hindenburg disaster by GoodToGoTees
Historical Hot Air Balloon Designs Vintage Image by harlowandcompany
Historical Accuracy T-Shirt – Women’s style by steamcon
Steampunk pirate airship by MrsEvilGenius
BLIMP by joessports
4th of July – Airship Vintage Art Shirt by MyOtherPlanet
Airship Pirate by clockworkwings
My Other Ride is an Airship Version 2 by Chris_the_Abyss
Join the Air Service by lc_wpa
Personal Airship by CBI_Steampunk
AIRSHIP Women’s T-shirt by transearth
Airship Mechanic by willlapuerta
Dirigible Air Tour T-Shirt by SteamPunkTees
Balloon Chariot steampunk Shirt by strangeling
Steampunk derigicyclist by MrsEvilGenius
Dirigible Lighter Than Air Airship by clearedtoland
PENGUICON 2009 Autumn Lake Steampunk Dark T-Shirt by mooncity
I’ll see you in a funny t-shirt!
QUICK LINKS:
Count Zeppelin biography
The Hindenburg Disaster
Castle in the Sky – a timeless story of courage and friendship with stunning animation from acclaimed Academy Award–winning director Hayao Miyazaki , complete with steampunk airships and pirates!
LOL Teez 