Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Italy: Mares and Pirelli

[David Wilson]

Our previous thread focused on historical diving equipment manufactured by Cressi sub in Genoa, the capital of the northern Italian region of Liguria. We now follow the Mediterranean coast (see map above) to reach our next destination, which is the municipality of Rapallo in the Metropolitan City of Genoa. Rapallo is the seaside resort and port where Ludovico Mares founded the diving equipment company bearing his name in 1949.

While brothers Egidio and Nanni Cressi were Genoese born and bred, Ludovico Mares came late to this Italian city. For Mares' biography, I am indebted to Anton Percan's well-researched and highly readable blog at Tales from the History of Pula - Part 1 • Mares - Scuba Diving Blog, Tales from the History of Pula – Part 2 • Mares - Scuba Diving Blog and Tales from the History of Pula – Part 3 • Mares - Scuba Diving Blog. If you are at all interested in the man behind the diving company Mares, I urge you to take a look at this illustrated three-part blog dedicated to his life and work. I will reproduce here just the bare facts.

Ludwig Mareš, as he was first known, was born on 10 February 1898 in Pula, which was then (see map above) the major naval base of the empire and monarchy of Austria-Hungary and which is now the largest city in the county of Istria in the republic of Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. Ludwig's father, who hailed from the Czech-speaking northwestern part of Austria-Hungary, moved to Pula to work as a ship mechanic in the dockyard. Ludwig had a relatively blissful childhood, learning to fish with a slingshot made of sharpened umbrella wire and buying his first roller skates from the proceeds of selling surplus fish caught in the clear waters of the Pula Bay.

During World War II, he saw combat as a "hard-hat" diver in the Austro-Hungarian navy, returning in 1917 to the Pula navy yard where he worked as a diver until the end of the war in 1918. His fortunes declined in peacetime, however, what with his diving services being no longer in demand and what with his father's health deteriorating rapidly. Ludwig eked out a living for himself and his family by fishing with a slingshot and an arrow. Occasionally, he was employed at an iron works where he had access to various tools and metal parts. While there, he designed his first diving mask from circular glass and a car inner tube, using it to increase his catches, which he sold to provide for his family. Word spread quickly and soon many young men from Pula ordered and used masks manufactured and supplied by Ludwig Mareš at the iron works.

In the mid-1920s, Ludwig Mareš changed his name to Ludovico Mares and found employment as a diving instructor on the island of Brijuni where he taught diving to wealthy guests. Following World War II, he left Pula altogether with his wife Irma. After a brief stay near Trieste, he settled in Rapallo on the Ligurian coast. At first, Ludovico worked as a roller-skating instructor but, surrounded as he was by diving enthusiasts, he soon became more involved in sports fishing and improving diving equipment. In 1949, when he was in his early fifties, he founded the Mares Sub workshop and filed his first patents for harpoons and fins.

And there we leave it for today, What I have posted above is the fruit of many hours of labour; a labour of love nonetheless. I'll be back at the weekend with a review of one of Mares' early diving masks.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, lowwall and Sam, and welcome all comers to the second post in this new thread. This time I promise to review at least one product from the Mares range of mid-20c basic gear after giving you a potted history of Ludovico Mares, the man behind the Italian diving equipment company bearing his name.

First item on the agenda: diving masks. At Tales from the History of Pula – Part 2 • Mares - Scuba Diving Blog, Anton Percan writes in his blog: "It was while working at Brijuni that Ludwig designed the first diving mask from circular glass and a car inner tube. By fishing in the coves near Pula with the aid of his first mask, Ludwig's catch increased multiple times, and by selling the fish he caught, he managed to provide for his family. The word about his abundant catch spread quickly, and soon many young men from Pula ordered and used masks provided and made by Ludwig Mares at Portarata's iron works. These were the first indications and beginnings of underwater fishing with a mask and a slingshot and, in that sense, Pula can rightfully be considered the cradle of underwater fishing in the Adriatic." Sadly, no picture or description of this prototype mask from the 1920s. We do not know, therefore, whether it excluded the nose as goggles do or whether it enclosed the nose as well as the eyes as diving masks do.

The earliest Mares sub catalogue I have accessed online dates back to 1957: MARES Catalogo 1957 | BluTimeScubaHistory. This publication focuses on spearfishing gear other than masks, snorkels and fins except for the final page:

Note the socket inside the mask above the right eye on the mannequin head, suggesting that this mask comes with a built-in though removable breathing tube. The key clue, however, is in the name "Mia Mares", Italian for "My Mares" and the name of this mask model. Here is a picture of the "Mia Mares" from 1963:

The same mask? You decide. A snorkel-less "Mia Mares" mask is included in Fabio Vitale's review of early-1950s diving masks, which can be downloaded from https://www.hdsitalia.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/020-HDSN20.pdf. The article is on pages 21-24. Here is the image and caption in question:

The Italian translates roughly as "Mia Mares Mask. Light blue rubber rigid body with a bevelled edge and oval lens retained by a metal band. Both medium size only." Sorry, the image resolution isn't great, but it's the best available.

"Mia Mares" only survived as a model name in the snorkel-mask version and we'll leave that product for later, when we review the entire Mares snorkel-mask range.

 

[David Wilson]

Fabio Vitale's review of early-1950s diving masks includes two further non-snorkel Mares models, the San Fruttuoso and the Portofino:

Rough translation: "2) -a Mares San Fruttuoso Mask. Semi-hard green rubber body enclosing an oval lens with or without a band. Only available in medium size.-b Mares Portofino Mask. Footprint similar to the San Fruttuoso with large oval lens retained by metal band."

Here is the San Fruttuosa in 1959, identified as catalogue number 1119, code for the band-less version:

Here's the San Fruttuosa in 1963, first the unbanded version, second the banded version:

Italian: "Art. 1119 - SAN FRUTTUOSO. Senza cerchietto. Buon campo visivo. Facciale di media grandezza. Vetro ovale. Art. 1252 - SAN FRUTTUOSO. Con cerchietto metallico."
Rough translation: "Article 1119 - SAN FRUTTUOSO. Rimless. Good field of vision. Medium-sized faceplate. Oval glass. Article 1252 - SAN FRUTTUOSO. Fitted with metal rim."

And here is the mask's final appearance in 1969:

Note the change of stock code from 1119 to 1105 for this mask, which is now available in its rimless version only. Note too the unusual mask strap with the three circular apertures in lieu of the more conventional split strap used in 1963. This design is a distinctive feature of mid-20c Mares sub masks, but not entirely unique to the company. Here are some drawings and illustrations from diving manuals and auction sites of diving masks made in the USSR during the same period:

Can you spot all five Soviet models with the three holes in their head straps? Just the one catch, I've included a mask where the holes haven't yet been cut out, but you can see the moulding marks where they should be.

I'll leave it there for today and return mid-week with a review of the Mares Portofino mask I mentioned above. Stay safe in the meantime.

 

[JMBL]

Thanks. A true time travel, you did it once more. Cheers.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the positive feedback, JMBL, and for the likes, guys.

Before moving on from the San Fruttuoso, I thought I'd comment on the product name. The mask derives its moniker from an abbey (picture above) dedicated to Saint Fructuosus of Tarragona, who was a Christian saint, bishop and martyr. The abbey of San Fruttuoso is situated on the Italian Riviera between Camogli and Portofino within the Metropolitan City of Genoa, where Mares was headquartered at Rapallo.

So local toponymy inspired Mares' early diving mask name San Fruttuoso. The same was true of the Mares Portofino mask. Portofino is an Italian fishing village and holiday resort famous for its picturesque harbour and historical association with celebrity and artistic visitors. It is located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore, as shown in the picture below:

Fabio Vitale's review of early-1950s diving masks includes the Portofino:

Rough translation: "2) -a Mares San Fruttuoso Mask. Semi-hard green rubber body enclosing an oval lens with or without a band. Only available in medium size.-b Mares Portofino Mask. Footprint similar to the San Fruttuoso with large oval lens retained by metal band."

The image resolution is not great, so here is a better view of the mask from 1959:

Note how the 1959 Mares catalogue, downloadable from MARES Catalogo 1959 | BluTimeScubaHistory, identifies the stock number 1118, but not the name, of this model. There is no product description.

The Portofino proved to be a resilient member of the Mares mask range with a service life extending as far as 1974. Here is how the 1963 Mares catalogue presents the Portofino:

Italian: "MASCHERE SENZA RESPIRATORE. Art. 1118 - PORTOFINO. Grande campo visivo. Maschera per adulti. Vetro ovale."
Rough translation: "MASKS WITHOUT SNORKELS. Art. 1118 - PORTOFINO. Large field of vision. Adult mask. Oval lens."

The following images from a French auction site may show a Mares Portofino mask from this period:

At least, the highly distinctive triple-perforated head strap cradle renders this mask instantly recognisable as an early Mares mask.

 

[David Wilson]

In 1969, the Mares Portofino diving mask acquired a new stock number (1107), a new shape (rounded rectangular) and a new rim material (plastic) to match its new name "Nuova Portofino" (New Portofino):

As you can infer from the trilingual captions, 1969 saw similar changes of coding and geometry throughout the Mares family of diving masks.

Here is the "Nuova Portofino" in the 1974 catalogue:

And here is the model again from an undated catalogue published during the 1970s:

The Portofino is mask number 11 on the catalogue page above, located top right in the lower image. It has a red rectangular rim and sits to the right of the "Nuova Compensazione" mask (number 9) on the top row with the rectangular metal band around the lens and the corrugated compensator recesses in the skirt bottom.

So much for the "more traditional design" Mares Portofino mask whose lens metamorphosed from elliptical to rectangular during its long service life. At the weekend, we'll move on to another Mares mask, probably the "Alassio". In the meantime, stay safe.

 

[Angelo Farina]

I did own n. 5. Probably the mask with better field of view I ever owned. Unfortunately the black rubber was of bad quality, deteriorating in just 2-3 years...
Scubapro made a clone of it some years later, but it was not exactly the same: in the Scubapro version the plastic frame did hit my front, just above the nose, aching after a while...
The rubber quality was much better, indeed.
Here you see an image form the Scubaporo catalog 1980, the mask copied form the Mares is the blue one, marked B:

Before than Scubapro, also Pirelli made a clone of that Mares mask... I also owned the Pirelli, the shape was perfect for me, but the rubber was even worst than Mares. It did last just one summer season...

 

[JMBL]

This picture + the info shared in this thread is a real trip down memory lane for me...

I remember playing Cousteau down at the beach with those old oval shaped masks, my Dad had several over the years, and indeed, the rubber was bad !

According to family tradition, I started stealing/borrowing his mask (have your pick) at the age of 4. As many kids in the 70's, I was brought up in front of a TV set (3 channels only, no remote control, and colour only at certain hours) J.Y Cousteau was all the rage, and a program deemed safe and educational by Mom and Dad... Seeing the most humble fish was a big adventure for me... I was so persistent that I got quickly my own first pair of goggles and my first mask when I was 6... Not every kid had one of them, I was so proud !

Now, Dad won't be swimming with me this year, old age crept in and wrought havoc... 'Vintage' shaped mask are again available, but my face is now too wide for them, can't find a single one on the market that fits ! Back to the present then I guess...

 

[David Wilson]

According to the catalogue page following the one above, the mask marked number 5 is the Mares Viso. Here is a page dedicated to the Viso in the 1976 Mares catalogue:

The English caption reads: "VISO MASK. The most original and modern mask thanks to its revolutionary solutions. Widest field of vision. Extremely reduced inside volume. (120cm²). Ideal for skin diving." Sounds as though Mares managed to optimise both visual breadth and internal volume with this model. This confirms your impression of the mask as offering panoramic vision. It appears to have been launched on the market in the early to mid 1970s. It certainly resembles the Close-Up mask marked D in the 1980 Scubapro catalogue. The caption there reads "CLEAR VIEW - Large lens uniquely close to diver's eyes gives maximum vision with least displacement for efficient mask pressurisation. Double seal. Nose-grip pressurisers. Stylish blue band." Yes, same features as the Mares Viso.

As for the equivalent Pirelli mask, perhaps the Minimo, number 4 in the 1974 catalogue below?

Italian caption: "Minimo. 4) Di gomma nera, azzurra, gialla, secondo la disponibilità. Ghiera in materia plastica rossa o nera. Bioculare, con cristalli temperati di forma trapezoidale. Sgocciolatoi perimetrali al bulbo oculare. Ventosa interna per una completa tenuta. Bloccaggio a pressione del cinghioto. Volume ridottissimo, e ampissimo campo visivo. Imballo di spedizione: scatole da 20 pezzi."
Rough translation: "Minimo. 4) Black, blue, yellow rubber, according to availability. Frame in red or black plastic. Binocular, with trapezoidal tempered lenses. Perimeter drains to the eyeball. Internal suction cup for a complete seal. Pressure locking of the strap. Extremely low volume, and very large field of view. Shipping packaging: boxes of 20 pieces."

Certainly looks as though a lot of cloning of competitors' gear went on back then, not that such cloning is anything new, then or now!

 

[Angelo Farina]

Nah, the Pirelli was visually identical to the Scubapro (same rounded nose), but the plastic was red or black, instead of blue. Apart the colour they were not distinguishable.
Also the shape was exactly the same: but Pirelli had a stiffer rubber, so it did not flex so much, and the plastic did stay at 1mm from my front. The much better rubber of the Scubapro was more soft and flexible, so it did squeeze more, allowing the plastic to touch my front...
I found just an image of the Pirelli mask I did own, it is the black one in lower-left corner here: