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

[David Wilson]

Thanks, all!
As promised, the Mares Sestri "A" snorkel-mask, which is probably named after the town of Sestri Levante (above) in Liguria, Italy. Lying on the Mediterranean Sea, it is approximately 56 km (35 miles) south of Genoa and is set on a promontory. This once quiet fishing village is slowly turning into a tourist hotspot, developing an old and a new town. The picturesque beach at Sestri Levante is known as "Baia del Silenzio", "Bay of Silence".

The single-snorkel Sestri "A" may have first appeared in the 1959 Mares catalogue, where it was identified only by its stock number 1249:

Back then , it cost 1600 lire. Here it is in 1963:

Italian: "Art. 1249 — SESTRI «A». Con respiratore. Buon campo visivo. Particolarmente indicata per ragazzi. Vetro rotondo."
Rough translation: "Art. 1249 — SESTRI "A". With built-in snorkel. Great visibility. Especially designed for youngsters. Round glass lens."

Like the "Mares Mia", which it closely resembled, the Sestri "A" was designed for the adolescent market. The "Mares Mia" cost 400 lire less, however, lacking as it did the traditional stainless-steel lens-retaining band with top screw.

And here we have the Sestri "A" in 1969:

Italian: "Articolo 1101 Sestri « A ». Particolarmente studiata per ragazzi. Vetro rotondo, buon campo visivo."
English: "Item 1101 Sestri « A ». Especially designed for youngsters. Round glass and a great visibility."
French: "Article 1101 Sestri « A ». Notamment prévu pour jeunes gens, glace ronde, bon champ visuel."

Note how two amendments have occurred between 1963 and 1969. First, a change of stock number, from 1249 to 1101. Secondly, the snorkel socket location has switched from top right to top left from the wearer's perspective. Most, but not all, single-snorkel masks have their snorkel socket emerging from the user's left.

 

[David Wilson]

The story of the Sestri "A" does not end with the 1960s. By 1974, the snorkel-mask has undergone further changes:

First a name change from "Sestri "A" to "Nuova Sestri" (= New Sestri), secondly a snorkel socket location change from left to right and thirdly a lens rim material change from metal to plastic. A mid-1970s Mares catalogue image show the new configuration in blue, yellow and white:

If you fancy a Mares Sestri "A" minus its snorkel, you may find one currently on eBay's Italian service. Here are some auction pictures:

As you can see, the lens is really circular, not oval. And I don't know if the skirt provides full-face or just eye/nose coverage. I suppose it depends on the wearer's facial dimensions. At least the option of nose breathing remains, however, whether the mouth ends up inside or outside the mask.

I'll leave it there for the moment, returning mid-week to review the Mares "Sori Baby" and "Nuova Sori" children's snorkel-masks. Keep well and keep safe in the coming days.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks, everyone!

Today's Mares snorkel-mask is the single-snorkel Sori model, named after the municpality of Sori (above) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region of Liguria, located about 17 kilometres (11 miles) southeast of Genoa. Mares launched the Sori anonymously in 1959 with a 1243 stock number and a 900-lire price-tag:

By 1963, it was also known as "Sori Baby":

Italian: "Art. 1243 — SORI BABY. Con respiratore. Facciale per bambini. Vetro rotondo."
Rough translation: "Art. 1243 — SORI BABY. Fitted with snorkel. Children's mask. Round glass lens."

Like the Sestri "A", the Sori Baby was designed for a younger generation, children in this instance. Like the Mia Mares, it was a budget product without the expense of a stainless-steel lens-retaining band. Note the top right position of the mask's single snorkel socket when a mask's one built-in snorkel usually emerged from the wearer's left.

And here is the Sori Baby in 1969:

Italian: "Articolo 1100 Sori Baby. Facciale per bambini con respiratore e vetro rotondo."
English: "Item 1100 Sori Baby. Mask for children with round glass and incorporated snorkel."
French: "Article 1100 Sori Baby. Facial pour enfants, glace ronde."

So a stock number recoding from 1243 to 1100, otherwise no change, not so much as a repositioning of the snorkel socket as was the case of the Sestri "A".

In 1974, the "Sori Baby" became the "Nuova Sori" (New Sori):

So, like the Nuova Sestri before it, the Nouova Sori children's snorkel-mask now has a more modern-looking snap-on plastic rim. Mares appears to have discontinued the line shortly afterwards.

 

[David Wilson]

Just two more Mares snorkel-masks remain to be reviewed. The penultimate is the Noli, named after the coastal municipality of Noli (above) in the province of Savona on the Ligurian Riviera in northern Italy. It lies about 50 kilometres (31 miles) southwest of Genoa and about 4 metres (13 ft) above sea-level. As with the Italian metropolis of "Napoli" (Naples), the origin of the name "Noli" may be "Neapolis", meaning "new city" in Greek.

The Noli snorkel-mask came and went in 1963:

Italian: "Art. 1210 — NOLI. Con respiratore. Grande campo visivo per l’osservazione e la caccia subacquea. Facciale di media grandezza. Vetro rotondo. Può essere fornita anche con cerchietto in Moplen e lente quadrangolare."
Rough translation: "Art. 1210 — NOLI. Fitted with snorkel. Great visibility for observation and underwater fishing. Medium-sized mask. Round glass lens. May also be supplied with a Moplen rim and quadrangular lens."

The Noli snorkel-mask's selling point of a wide field of vision for observation and underwater fishing suggests that the manufacturer was targeting adults, or perhaps adolescents, with this model. The mask came with its snorkel socket top right and with the options of a plastic rim and a rectangular lens.

 

[David Wilson]

The final Mares snorkel-mask to be reviewed today and within this thread is the Mares Elton Piccolo model, which came and went in 1970. This snorkel-mask is named, of course, after the small flute called a "piccolo" above, which is a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments.

The 1970 Mares Elton catalogue featured two products called "Piccolo", namely a plain diving mask, which we reviewed earlier in this thread:

and the same design fitted with a single snorkel:

M-750 YOUTH PICCOLO SNORKEL (BLUE). Youth mask for shallow water viewing. Yellow tinted plastic lens minimizes reflections. Features single snorkel with double action valve. Rim of inox steel. Ideal for use in pools. Packaged in plastic bag.

Although Mares intended both versions for youngsters swimming in shallow water, the masks featured stainless-steel rims complete with top screws, suggesting something better than the lowest common denominator. Here is another image of the Piccolo snorkel-mask:

Note the right-sided snorkel socket occupied with a plastic tube topped with a hinge-type float valve.

And there we leave the Mares range of snorkel-masks and look forward to the review of the Mares range of fins due to begin mid-week. We'll start then with Mares' early-1950s Natator fin. Meantime, keep safe and well!

 

[lowwall]

Piccolo just means "small" in Italian. The musical instrument was originally a flauto piccolo, which is where we get the English name although the common name has changed to ottavino ("little octave") in Italian.

 

[Popgun Pete]

Piccolo just means "small" in Italian. The musical instrument was originally a flauto piccolo, which is where we get the English name although the common name has changed to ottavino ("little octave") in Italian.

That is right, Technisub also used Piccolo as the name for their small version of the Jaguar speargun.

 

[Angelo Farina]

Piccolo just means "small" in Italian. The musical instrument was originally a flauto piccolo, which is where we get the English name although the common name has changed to ottavino ("little octave") in Italian.

Exactly. Never seen that musical instrument being called "piccolo" here. These Mares products have the "piccolo" label for making it clear that they are designed for children.

 

[David Wilson]

Interesting... Just another factor to throw into the mix is that the "Piccolo" masks with and without fitted snorkels don't seem to be core products of the Mares inventory, just appearing as they do in a short-lived export line dubbed "Mares by Elton":

As you can see, the Elton Corporation of New York published the catalogue above in 1970, with the presumable intention of distributing a tranche of Mares gear to an Anglophone audience in the USA perhaps more familiar with piccolo the instrument via popular media such as Disney. Another product in the same 1970 "Mares by Elton" catalogue is the Blue Marine fin:

So far as I know, neither Piccolo masks nor Blue Marine fins ever appeared in "official" Mares catalogues. I conclude they were reserved for the export trade, like the late-1950s Cressi Rondine fins I reviewed fitted with instep straps.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks, everybody!

Over to Mares fins and a few days ago I said I would start with the Mares Natator, but I see from the product description that the Mares Superfin came first, so we'll go with that.

Italian: "SUPERFIN MARES. Prodotte in gomma nera e con tallone non protetto nelle misure dal 39 al 44. La pala è del tipo a prolungamento centrale."
English: "MARES SUPERFIN. Made of black rubber, with unprotected heel, in sizes from 39 to 44. Blade has extended tip at centre."

Unless I've missed something again, "Superfin" is simply a combination of "super" and "fin". As you can just see from Fabio Vitale's journal article image, it appears to come in at least two open heel designs, one with a fixed heelstrap and another with an adjustable heelstrap notwithstanding the product description. The blade tip is convex. The foot pocket is only dimensioned to accommodate six adult shoe sizes, ending at the equivalent of US shoe size 10. I get the impression that men's feet tended to be shorter in the middle of the last century.