Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Britain: Dunlop, Heinke, Siebe-Gorman etc
- Thread starter David Wilson
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OP
David Wilson
Contributor
On to Shark Brand fins. Once again, information is sparse...
Shark Brand Superfins
Shark Brand ads simply revealed the price of these fins: 39/- a pair, meaning £1 19s 0d in old British currency. Sadly, I have been unable to locate further data about this product, which came with an open toe and a closed heel not long after Cressi introduced its revolutionary Rondine design:
The unusual rib pattern on the blade of the Shark Brand Superfin is itself reminiscent of the "Super palmes fusées" (Rocket super fins) manufactured by the French diving equipment company Hurricane during the 1950s:
Hurricane explained the design thus: "Drawing inspiration from American rockets blasting into the stratosphere, Hurricane has been successful in developing truly revolutionary swimming fins that provide opportunities for substantial speed at a minimum expense of energy." Shark Brand appears to have copied the design while adding a full-foot fitting.
The Shark Brand range included underwater equipment other than masks, snorkels and fins, namely hand spears, a diver's torch, a depth gauge, a weight belt and even a foam neoprene wetsuit. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find illustrations of these goods.
That's it for Shark Brand. If you want to see the above information in the form of a catalogue reconstruction, access Shark_Brand.pdf. We'll take a look at a couple of other minor players in British 1950s underwater swimming equipment manufacturing next.
Shark Brand Superfins
Shark Brand ads simply revealed the price of these fins: 39/- a pair, meaning £1 19s 0d in old British currency. Sadly, I have been unable to locate further data about this product, which came with an open toe and a closed heel not long after Cressi introduced its revolutionary Rondine design:
The unusual rib pattern on the blade of the Shark Brand Superfin is itself reminiscent of the "Super palmes fusées" (Rocket super fins) manufactured by the French diving equipment company Hurricane during the 1950s:
Hurricane explained the design thus: "Drawing inspiration from American rockets blasting into the stratosphere, Hurricane has been successful in developing truly revolutionary swimming fins that provide opportunities for substantial speed at a minimum expense of energy." Shark Brand appears to have copied the design while adding a full-foot fitting.
The Shark Brand range included underwater equipment other than masks, snorkels and fins, namely hand spears, a diver's torch, a depth gauge, a weight belt and even a foam neoprene wetsuit. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find illustrations of these goods.
That's it for Shark Brand. If you want to see the above information in the form of a catalogue reconstruction, access Shark_Brand.pdf. We'll take a look at a couple of other minor players in British 1950s underwater swimming equipment manufacturing next.
OP
David Wilson
Contributor
The Abbey Corinthian Games Company Limited was an old UK manufacturer of toys and games:
One of its most famous products was a "bagatelle", which resembled a pinball machine:
http://www.kentandcleal.co.uk/detail.asp?stockid=00700&ref=manu.asp?qfcode=&catid=&manuid=0003&keywords=&minprice=&maxprice=
Abbey Corinthian dabbled for a short while in basic underwater gear during the late 1950s. Once again, information is somewhat sparse.
One of its most famous products was a "bagatelle", which resembled a pinball machine:
http://www.kentandcleal.co.uk/detail.asp?stockid=00700&ref=manu.asp?qfcode=&catid=&manuid=0003&keywords=&minprice=&maxprice=
Abbey Corinthian dabbled for a short while in basic underwater gear during the late 1950s. Once again, information is somewhat sparse.
OP
David Wilson
Contributor
Whatever data I have located about Abbey Corinthian basic underwater swimming gear derives from catalogues of London stockists such as Lillywhites and Cogswell & Harrison. We'll begin with breathing tubes.
Abbey Snorkel
These images date from 1958. Note the unusual double-flanged mouthpiece at the end of the corrugated hose, which itself was an unusual snorkel feature for its time. The S-shaped breathing tube came with a ball valve at the supply end to shut off the tube when the swimmer submerged.
Another version of the Abbey Snorkel was described as resembling the above but with a "non-return blow valve". No illustration available!
That's it for today. I'll complete the sparse information I have about Abbey underwater gear next time.
Abbey Snorkel
These images date from 1958. Note the unusual double-flanged mouthpiece at the end of the corrugated hose, which itself was an unusual snorkel feature for its time. The S-shaped breathing tube came with a ball valve at the supply end to shut off the tube when the swimmer submerged.
Another version of the Abbey Snorkel was described as resembling the above but with a "non-return blow valve". No illustration available!
That's it for today. I'll complete the sparse information I have about Abbey underwater gear next time.
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In California we always have had a problems with Kelp entanglement. Therefore from day one equipment t was "stream lined " to eliminate any and all possibilities of dangling equipment which could possibly cause entanglement especially the snorkel . The double J was almost immediately deleted from serious divers armentarium and relegated to swimming pool use
It appeasers that the UK companies could not - or would not - produced a snorkel with out a Ping-pong ball and a double curve in it .
I question why ?
Concurrently the world had eliminated the bottom J and had migrated tp the single J which the diving community beginning to even modify that configuration.
Keep up the great work ! very educational and always a great read first thing in the AM
Sam Miller, 111
It appeasers that the UK companies could not - or would not - produced a snorkel with out a Ping-pong ball and a double curve in it .
I question why ?
Concurrently the world had eliminated the bottom J and had migrated tp the single J which the diving community beginning to even modify that configuration.
Keep up the great work ! very educational and always a great read first thing in the AM
Sam Miller, 111
OP
David Wilson
Contributor
Thanks for the feedback, Sam. If you look back over the three UK-focused threads, there will be plenty of examples of S-shaped breathing tubes with ping-pong or other style of valves, e.g. Britmarine, Typhoon and most recently Abbey. However, British manufacturers did produce their share of simple "J"-shaped snorkels right from the start in the 1950s, while producing fewer valved snorkels in subsequent decades. 1950s "J"-type examples from three different British manufacturers below.
Typhoon T1
Heinke Snorkel
Dunlop Aquafort Snorkel
Typhoon T1
Heinke Snorkel
Dunlop Aquafort Snorkel
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David
I certainly recognized that they did produce J snorkels almost from the beginning - but continued to produce the double J Ping pong ball snorkels as well.
Across the pond in the former colonies the manufactures which were concentrated in LA and 30 miles south in Orange County California were eliminating Ping Pong ball snorkels from the inventory.
I suspect your efforts are recognizing the international and regional differences as required for diving - aka kelp and possible entanglements vs no kelp and no concern with entanglements.
Therefore the continued aggressive marketing of the J snorkel in the UK in an area devoted of possible kelp entanglements.
Sam Miller, 111
I certainly recognized that they did produce J snorkels almost from the beginning - but continued to produce the double J Ping pong ball snorkels as well.
Across the pond in the former colonies the manufactures which were concentrated in LA and 30 miles south in Orange County California were eliminating Ping Pong ball snorkels from the inventory.
I suspect your efforts are recognizing the international and regional differences as required for diving - aka kelp and possible entanglements vs no kelp and no concern with entanglements.
Therefore the continued aggressive marketing of the J snorkel in the UK in an area devoted of possible kelp entanglements.
Sam Miller, 111
OP
David Wilson
Contributor
I'm sure you're right, Sam. Those national differences interest me greatly as my background is in the teaching and learning of foreign languages and cultures. It's significant that the snorkels manufactured on a commercial scale in the former USSR came without ball valves or the like, doubtless due to the popularity of spearfishing there in rivers and lakes where there is a much greater likelihood of entanglement with underwater plant life.
David
I think you might be overestimating how much the bureaucratic planned economy machine cared about the needs of the actual consumers.
OP
David Wilson
Contributor
Thanks for the input, dmaziuk. I agree that I may be giving too much credit to the Soviet authorities when serving individual consumers within the planned economy!
On to Abbey Corinthian swimming fins.
Abbey Florida Sandal Fin
The caption in the 1956 Cogswell & Harrison catalogue simply reads: "The Florida Sandal. Inclined blade, shoe type. Medium and Large sizes."
Although the fin is classed as "shoe type", suggesting full foot coverage, the sides of the heels remain exposed, hence the "sandal" epithet. This sandal-type design was rare, but not unique. The following model appeared in Desco's 1957 catalogue of equipment for water sports and skin diving:
According to George Bronson-Howard's Handbook for Skin Divers (1956), Desco also imported the Aquatic sandal-type fin from Italy:
The details above appeared in the 1957 catalogue of International Divers Corp of Canada.
And then there's the 1950s A6 Voit Viking:
Can anybody name any other sandal-type fin models of the past?
Returning to Abbey Corinthian and its Florida range of swimming fins, I am aware of the existence of two other models: The Florida Flyer and The Florida Thruster. I'm afraid I have no further information about them. Can anybody help?
On to Abbey Corinthian swimming fins.
Abbey Florida Sandal Fin
The caption in the 1956 Cogswell & Harrison catalogue simply reads: "The Florida Sandal. Inclined blade, shoe type. Medium and Large sizes."
Although the fin is classed as "shoe type", suggesting full foot coverage, the sides of the heels remain exposed, hence the "sandal" epithet. This sandal-type design was rare, but not unique. The following model appeared in Desco's 1957 catalogue of equipment for water sports and skin diving:
According to George Bronson-Howard's Handbook for Skin Divers (1956), Desco also imported the Aquatic sandal-type fin from Italy:
The details above appeared in the 1957 catalogue of International Divers Corp of Canada.
And then there's the 1950s A6 Voit Viking:
Can anybody name any other sandal-type fin models of the past?
Returning to Abbey Corinthian and its Florida range of swimming fins, I am aware of the existence of two other models: The Florida Flyer and The Florida Thruster. I'm afraid I have no further information about them. Can anybody help?
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