Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2011 September 23 • Friday

Also in the alternative history department is this great book, Boilerplate: History's Mechanical Marvel by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett.

This is a brilliant concoction, a fake history of Boilerplate, the world's first robot soldier who was created in the nineteenth century and served in conflicts with Teddy Roosevelt and Lawrence of Arabia. Boilerplate also appears in silent movies and meets Nikola Tesla, Mark Twain, Jack Johnson and Houdini.

The design is a perfect counterfeit of educational publishing and the effort that went into inserting Boilerplate into history and pop culture is very impressive.

Here he is with T. E. Lawrence.

He would be easy to miss in this photo if the authors hadn't pointed him out.

With Jack Johnson.

Here's Boilerplate as the subject of a Jack London work.

With Teddy Roosevelt.

And there's lots, lots more. This is one of the most impressive and delightful labors of love I've ever seen!