A few weeks ago, io9 posted a beautiful photo gallery of historic aerships, dirigibles and zeppelins. It seemed selfish not to share this with you!

Like goggles, dirigible-type aerships are a steampunk staple. We always imagine them as being kitted out to a high degree of elegance, and sailing across the sky with the grace of a Dowager Countess trailing her skirts through a Court reception. But if they’d actually persisted as a form of commercial air travel, would we now be groaning about the inconvenience and discomfort, and fantasizing about sleek, bird-winged jets?