Which was the very first scuba mask?

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Sbiriguda

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A question for you that know everything...
Which was the very first known scuba mask in history?
A mask is a relatively simple object. There are several designs, it can be made with one or two pieces of glass. Then there is a "skirt" made usually of silicone or rubber and a strap.
Not sure about it, but I think the skirt could be made in the past with the materials available in other ages, such as natural rubber or perhaps leather.
Still, I have no knowledge of scuba masks built before let's say early 1800 century (I might be mistaken)
On the other hand, spearfishing, pearls, sponges and corals fishing and diving in general has been performed for thousands of years, and scuba/freediving masks would have proved useful.
How comes nobody invented such a simple object some centuries ago?
 
Paging Dr @Sam Miller III..... if it's scuba, and it's history, Dr. Sam probably did it or at least knows a guy. I think there were early helmet type apparatus before the 1800's and diving bells as well.

Good luck,
Jay
 
Bells were first, then bells with surface supplied air, then diving helmets were used to increase mobility compared to bells.
leather was the original choice for improved designs i believe
 
First googles was introduced by Guy Gilpatric in his book For Sale - The Complete Goggler
First mask was patented by Alexandre Kramarenko (and C. Wilen)
Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century France
1a459f427fc9c63357cf5231e3c635ea-png.503831.png

It was without nose-covering, and had air-pressure compensator (bulb)
And about first mass-produced mask you can ask also from @David Wilson

P.s. about first selfmade masks on the west coast you can read in @Sam Miller III story Hand-crafted diving mask still in production
 
And about first mass-produced mask you can ask also from @David Wilson
big_artfichier_744410_7785228_201807013936816-jpg.508537.jpg

The French Squale mask? Paul DUBOIS (above) created and developed a diving mask, which he called the SQUALE mask (left below) and which he patented at the Office Blétry, Paris on December 19, 1944, 14 H 05 Mn. (see patent below).
capture-plein-c3-a9cran-25052012-205443-bmp2-jpg.508535.jpg

capture-plein-c3-a9cran-25052012-205615-bmp-jpg.508536.jpg

According to Jean-Michel Cousteau's biography of his father Mon père le commandant (available as a Google book):

Savez-vous que j’ai bien connu un ami de votre père, il produisait des Squale… Pour les jeunes lecteurs, je précise que « Squale » est la première entreprise qui fabriqua en série des masques et lunettes de plongée. Les masques étaient faits à partir de moules dans lesquels on coulait du caoutchouc chaud qu’il convenait de laisser refroidir avant de le démouler. On glissait ensuite un morceau de verre protecteur dans cette armature. L’inconvénient du verre est sa fragilité : il pouvait éclater facilement, au moindre choc, sous la moindre pression. Avec les progrès de la technique, il fut remplacé par du verre Sécurit.

Rough translation: "Are you aware that I knew a friend of your father's, he manufactured Squale (masks) ..." For my younger readers, I want to make clear that "Squale" is the first company that mass-produced diving masks and goggles. The masks were made by filling moulds with hot rubber, which would then be allowed to cool before being removed from the mould. A piece of protective glass was then slipped into this frame. The disadvantage of glass is its fragility: it could burst easily, at the slightest shock, under the slightest pressure. With the progress of the technique, it was replaced by safety glass.

In its time, the Squale mask was adopted by many of the world's navies.
 
Thank you very much
There must be something I am missing in the technology necessary to manufacture scuba masks. The first ‘real’ masks seem to date back to 1930s or 1940s not very long time ago, I would have said they could be manufactured very long time before, especially for freediving where there is no need of regulators etc which are a quite new invention. Perhaps finding the right material that allows good equalization of the ears and of the mask itself was not as simple as I thought
 
Suggest checking out
1860s
Rouquayrol & Denayrouze..."Aerophore"
Full face mask for the R&D unit

A RATHER LONG RESPONSE …MASKS..READ OR IGNORE (​
(Frankly my dear I don't give a damn-- Gone with the wind !)

Many years ago in an unpleasantness I sustained serious facial injury which resulted in 165 stiches and several corrective surgeries -- My face was rather sensitive for an extended period.

I am currently using and have been using Swimaster Wide View, a company and a mask that ceased production about 40 years ago. When they ceased production I purcbsed six masks for what I though would be a life time supply. I wore one until it was no longer comfortable at about 30 years and have been using mask # 5 for about 10 years which I will never wear out

However, my all time favorite mask and one that was custom made to my then youthful face was by the great late Charlie Sturgil and has with stood the test of time

A rather old article from my dedicated column "The way it was" from the now defunct national magazine Discover Diving about making a dive mask in the genesis of diving, 70 years ago. It has been published several times on this board but do to its historical nature warrants reposting -- It was and is my all time favorite mask


'The Mask,

One of the great pioneer divers of all times was the late Charlie Sturgil. "The Old Walrus," as he was affectionately known, started his diving career in 1929 in the frigid waters off Northern California where he hunted for abalone by a method he described as "feeling for abalone." He would dive on a reef, feel until he found an abalone and pry it off, without the use of mask, fins, snorkel or thermal protection.

Charlie began diving with a mask using a Japanese mask in the late 1930s which was loaned to him by his good friend Bill O'Conner. A few years later after the end of WW 11, Charlie, a master tool and die maker and an inventor of sorts, developed the necessary tooling to produce masks on a semi-custom basis for himself and a few close friends. I consider myself very fortunate to have been included in the latter category.

In early years during the genesis of recreational diving the masks were either too large, too small, too stiff or after a few dives, would rapidly deteriorate into a gummy, sticky mess. This did not make for comfortable diving! After using a number of the masks of that era, the Japanese imports, and the American made Sea Net, I decided it was time to contact Charlie to ask him if he could make one of his custom masks for me.

After checking my meager finances, found I could possibly afford one of Charlie's masks, so I gave him a call. "Sure, Sammy, I'd be happy to make a mask for you, come on over", Charlie replied to my request. Within moments I was off to the temple of Southern California diving, Charlie Sturgil's garage.

I was met by this jovial hunk of a man with his infectious, ever-present smile. "Hey ya, Sammy" was always his cordial greeting. Alter a few moments of catching up on the diving scene it, was time to get to work. "Sammy, I'm now making two masks; the original for $6.00 and a new oval model for $8.00", Charlie explained. After considerable soul searching and penny counting, I opted for what I felt I could afford, the original round mask for $6.00.

Now, Charlie's garage was something to behold. It appeared to be in total disarray, and the best way to describe it would be the day after a big sale in a bargain basement. Diving equipment in various stages of repairs, pieces of metal, lengths of stainless rods scattered about... Omnipresent was the huge metal turret lathe and miscellaneous metal working machines. But to Charlie, it was his arena, it was where he excelled in turning these seemingly scrap pieces of metal into custom spear points, spear shafts, yes, even masks.

Charlie knew the location, size, shape and type of everything in his garage. His storage system was logical and certainly workable, but it still defies the imagination how he managed to find anything, let alone make anything, but he did.
Charlie went to work with the speed and skill of a emergency room surgeon. He immediately uncovered a length of 5 inch O.D. soft rubber World War 11, surplus firehose, from which he cut a 4 inch piece. He placed the piece of rubber hose in the wooden mold and proceeded to his trusty bench grinder where he slowly cut a 1/8 inch wide, 3/32 deep groove all around the edge for the glass. This was followed by the rough contouring for the forehead, cheeks, and upper lip. He then went to his metal rack and withdrew a piece of 3/4 x 16 inch 22 gauge stainless steel, which he placed in his specially constructed mold and carefully, yet skillfully, forced the stainless steel around the mold forming it into a familiar round mask shape. His next step was to form the band evenly and smoothly around the mold creating the lip for the compression hand with light rapid laps of a hammer. Using silver solder, the welding process of the era, he soldered the tabs for the strap and the compression screw tabs to complete the band. A piece of pre-cut 1/3 inch glass, the same kind used for window glass, was taken from the shelf and fit into the groove; the compression band placed around the mask and the compression screw tightened.

At last, the mask was assembled. My own custom Sturgil mask! Charlie proceeded to take some cursory measurements of my then youthful face, and returned to the grinding wheel, skillfully grinding a little here, a little there, another trial fit, a little more grinding. Finally, a perfect fit. A final hand finish with fine sandpaper, attaching of the strap, cut from a truck inner tube, and I was the proud possessor of a real genuine Charlie Sturgil Original Style Diving Mask.

This occurred many years ago when diving as well as life was much simpler, a time when pride in workmanship and ownership were at a premium. Charlie made almost 40 of these one of a kind custom dive masks, however only three are known to have survived the rigors of our disposable society, mine, Alex Pierce's of Toronto, Canada and Charlie's widow's Laura's mask which now on loan and rests in a Southern California museum. And indeed they are museum pieces... the three remaining masks are all 70 or more years old and represent an era which was experienced by only a precious few which will never be experienced again upon this earth.

Charlie has reverend position in the fraternity of diving pioneers; he won the world's second Spearfishing contest in 1950 with a pole spear of his own design , was a LA County Underwater Instructor and serendipity developed much of the spearfishing and SCUBA equipment which has become mainstream in todays diving.

I will never forget Charlie, nor will anyone who ever knew him.... nor will there ever be another mask like a Sturgil Mask.
Dr Samuel Miller,111
(Copyright Dr. Samuel Miller,111 & Dr. Samuel Miller,IV and Lee/CCnews/TPR; may not be used with out permission of author and Lee/CCnews)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
post script;

Charlie passed on November 15 1984, 35 years ago- long before many of you were born or were engaged in this noble activity. His devoted wife Laura passed on a few years ago at the age of 90. If Charlie knew you and liked you he always addressed you in the familiar; Ie Sammy, Bobbie, Jimmie,--Those he didn't have great admiration or didn't know well it was formal Sam, Bob or Jim. I was refreed to as Sammy

A little about Charlie Sturgil...
Charlie along with team mates the late Bud Abernathy and Freddie Kittles of the SoCal Skin Divers team won the 1951 International Spearfishing meet. Bud and Freddie used a Sturgil modified Champion Arbalete spear guns with Sturgil points. Charlie used his trusty legendary pole spear. Charlie Sturgil was the only person in the history of spearfishing competition to win an international meet with a pole spear.

The Fathomiers spearfishing club has been presenting the "Charlie Sturgil Pole Spear Spearfishing meet" for about 35 years...It came full circle when Charlie's grand daughter, Laura Lee Gonta won the meet several years ago using one of grandfather Charlie's legendary pole spears.

His daughter Laura Lee was married to Billy Meistral, one of the twin brothers who founded "Dive n Surf" and the very successful "Body glove." Billy also passed on several years ago. Brother Bobbie passed away about 5 years ago
So now you know...

I still have my "Custom Sturgil Mask" tucked away in a 50 Caliber US Ammo box, along with my home made snorkel constructed from a WW11 gas mask hose and a short piece of plastic aquarium tubing.

In the genesis of recreational diving we improvised, invented or if an item costs over a dollar we made one in our garage workshop- or were fortunate to have a talented friend like Charlie

~~~only three Surgil dive masks have survived these many years... Mine, Charlies Widow Laura's which is in a museum and Harry Vetter's which is currently owned by Alex Peirce and is featured on his blog about masks

A story of my first custom dive mask--A Sturgil --- many years ago when life was simpler- and divers were few in numbers...…..

Sam Miller, 111
 
Commander Le Prieur described dive masks being simple to make which were made from tire inner tubes cut to shape with a metal band to affix the glass viewing plate. This mask could be seen as a progression of strapping a look box onto your head. While in Japan he mentioned dive masks being made in this way. Commercial diving had full face masks (free flow supply) and dive masks for breath-hold divers would have developed from there. The mono-goggle developed by Kramareko and Wilen had a hard plastic frame with a sponge base for sealing on the face and was specifically developed for use with the first spring guns. Later versions of this mask were developed in rubber. It did not take long for a nose piece to be added to this type of mask, but it was preceded by the round and oval masks elsewhere.


Mary Belewsky Cap d'Antibes May 1941.jpg
 
1) We know that the ancient greeks used olive oil for underwater vision, but that does not really qualify as a mask.
2) It is also rumored that divers of Constantinople used polished outer layers of tortoise shells as goggles, but I have been unable to locate direct evidence.
3) Then came the helmets, 18th century, beginning with stuff like this one (Siebe and Gorman are rather modern)
4) And the full face masks, home made at first, of course
5) And only then half masks, which required an air supply like the Cousteau-Gagnan-regulator.

Some more data:

"Cousteau had earlier tested an open circuit breathing apparatus designed in 1933 by the French naval officer Yves Le Prieur. It featured a full face mask and a breast mounted bottle."

"Cousteau and Gagnan were granted a patent for their invention in 1945. The first commercially sold regulator, CG45, was manufactured the next year."

It is obvious that the CG45 required a half-mask already.
 

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