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

[David Wilson]

Thanks, everybody!

I promised the Bermudas, the Corallo and the Panther masks next. None of them are dated, as I don't have entries for them in the Mares Catalogues... The Bermudas:

Not much to say about this model, plastic frame and buckles. Note the transatlantic name Bermudas, associating it with the Montego.

 

[David Wilson]

The Corallo:

The styling is certainly Mares, particularly with respect to the recessed nose pocket. If you haven't guessed already, "corallo" is Italian for "coral".

 

[David Wilson]

And finally for today, the Panther:

Another mask with similar styling and the recessed nose pocket. A plastic frame, but metal buckles this time.

So that's my lot for today. I shall be reviewing Mares snorkels in my next posting, which will be some time midweek. Stay safe in the meantime.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks, guys!

On to Mares snorkels. In my threads about Russian and Ukrainian snorkels in Soviet times and aftwards, I lamented the fact that those countries' manufacturers never gave the snorkels they made a product name other than "Дыхательная трубка", Russian for "Breathing tube". As for Mares snorkels, each model was given either a stock number (e.g. "1121") or a letter of the alphabet (e.g. "Tubo-B") to distinguish it from others in the snorkel range. The only exception to this rule was when Mares made snorkels for other firms, as was the case in 1970 with the Mares "Elton" line of sports equipment.

We'll begin with Mares snorkels available in 1959, which is the earliest catalogue to which I have access:

We'll focus today on two models featured in the 1959 catalogue, the 1121 and 1129 above. The former design endured in the Mares repertoire until 1969, while the latter was conspicuous by its absence from 1960s catalogues.

 

[David Wilson]

The Mares 1121 of 1959 was a C-shaped snorkel fitted with a curved bend and an automatic shut-off valve at the top of the barrel:

If you have read this subforum's thread dedicated to Cressi of Italy, you may recall the "Gamma" valve patented by Luigi Ferraro for incorporation into Cressi snorkels and snorkel-masks:

The hinged float valve at the supply end of the Mares 1121 snorkel operates on the same principle, automatically closing the air inlet and preventing water ingress during submersion. There was another curved bend at the bottom of the barrel, terminating in a straight mouthpiece with a bellows-type neck. This mouthpiece design is particularly associated with the Beuchat "Silent V" snorkel made in Marseille:

Here is a close-up of the Beuchat mouthpiece with the accordion style neck designed to enhance mouth comfort:

The Mares 1121 snorkel reappeared in the company's 1963 catalogue:

The caption "Art. 1121 - B. Con Valvola" translates to "Item 1121 - B. With Valve". Note the letter "B", because this model's successor in 1969 had a change of stock number to 1301 but kept its letter designation, "Tipo B":

Italian: "Articolo 1301 tipo B. Con galleggiante munito di valvolina a tenuta d'acqua."
English: "Item 1301 model B. Provided with a floating valve."
French: "Article 1301 modèle B. Embouchoir courbe. Tube avec obturateur."

Note how a U-shaped flexible rubber elbow with a mouthpiece at one end has replaced the accordeon-style mouthpiece at the demand end of a barrel with a lower bend. The "B-type" float-valve snorkel was conspicuous by its absence from 1970s Mares catalogues.

 

[David Wilson]

One more Mares snorkel to go today, the 1129 appearing in the 1959 catalogue but discontinued shortly afterwards:

This breathing tube resembles the 1121 of 1959 and 1963, fitted as it is with a straight mouthpiece with accordeon-style neck for mouth comfort. The most notable difference, of course, is the absence of a float-valve from the supply end. Note, however, the subtle variation in the geometry of the barrel: the absence of the little extra twist at the bottom and the presence of the curved bend at the top.

Although this valve-less double-bend snorkel may look unusual, it is far from unique. Here's an Australian example:

The Carriers have something similar among the snorkels illustrated in the 1955 edition of their seminal work Dive:

It's the third from the left on the top row. Then there's the display of "pipe snorkels" in Albert VanderKogel's Underwater Sport (also 1955):

The S-shaped snorkel without a ball valve can be seen in the middle of the top row.

That's plenty for today. Back at the weekend with a review of the Mares 1122 and 1122 bis J-shaped snorkels from 1959 which became "Tipo C" (Model C) breathing tubes as time went on. In the meantime, stay safe.

 

[lowwall]

It look like a bathiscope, a device originally patented by Cressi in the sixties:View attachment 603537

After catching up on this thread this morning, and thus learning of the existence of the bathyscope, imagine my delight at coming across the following photo in today's New York Times article ‘Mussel-bola’ Could Be Spreading. Maybe Now You’ll Pay Attention.

 

[David Wilson]

Great picture, Iowwall, and a happy coincidence for it to be in that day's New York Times. I'm researching early Australian spearfishing equipment at the moment and one of the manufacturers I'm studying is "Undersea Novelties", now "Undersee Products", which is still in business. The firm's 1947 founder Don Linklater chose the "Undersee" spelling in the firm's name carefully because his priority was providing fishermen whether aboard a boat or beneath the waves with the necessary underwater vision to catch their prey. So he not only made diving masks for his underwater hunters:

but also an "Aquascope" for boat fishing:

Both ads from the early 1950s.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks again, everybody, for your continued appreciation of this thread. I promised today to review the Mares 1122 and 1122 bis J-shaped snorkels from 1959. Let's start with the 1122 model.

1959

And here it is in 1963:

Italian: "Art. 1122 - C. Con boccaglio curvo. I modelli 1122 e 1198 D vengono forniti, a richiesta, con tubo flessibile."
Rough translation: "Art. 1122 - C. With curved mouthpiece. Models 1122 and 1198 D are supplied, on request, with flexible barrel."

So a breathing tube, open and valve-free at the top, all-in-one rubber mouthpiece and U-bend at the bottom, giving the snorkel an overall J-shaped design and the option of a flexible barrel to go with the flow and the undergrowth.

 

[David Wilson]

In 1969, the model's stock number is changed from "1122-C" to "1302 Model C" and "1303 Model C":

1302 is the version with the rigid barrel, while 1303 was the version with the flexible barrel.

In 1974, the stock numbers were dropped and the following appeared as "Model C":

An "L"-shaped snorkel, then, which meant less residual water inside. A choice of a rigid or flexible barrel too.

1975 brought the "J" shape again, rigidly or flexibly barrelled:

1976

We're back again too to the quinquelingual caption.

And here is Model C in a mid-1970s catalogue:

Here we have the "J" shape as No. 1 on the far left with the "L" shape as No. 4 in the middle. The J snorkel is flexible, the L snorkel is rigid.