Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Italy: Other manufacturers

[David Wilson]

And now for the second Aquatic snorkel, which was imported States-side by the US Divers company between 1959 and 1962:

1959

1961

1962

So the model is described as being available in sea-green and yellow and having an "extended rubber mouthpiece" back in 1959 when it débuted in a US Divers catalogue. By 1961, "plastic" had been replaced by "rubber" in the product description and "blue" had been added to the colour range. This snorkel appears to be the unvalved counterpart of the Nadir in terms of material and features.

We finish today with several auction pictures of the snorkel including close-ups of its country of origin and its branding:

Some time at the weekend, I shall proceed to review Aquatic snorkel-masks. Keep safe and stay well until then.

 

[jale]

and identifies the company requesting the trade mark as "Fabbrica Italiana Plastici", a plant located at Via XX settembre, 26/15 Genoa, in the North of Italy. The "Aquatic" brand is intended to cover "articoli per gli sport", i.e. "sporting goods", while the manufacturer's name "Fabbrica Italiana Plastici" translates to "Italian Plastics Factory". Here is a fairly recent view of the "Via XX settembre", the Genoese street where the company once operated:
View attachment 657268
According to Via XX Settembre - PANORAMASTREETLINE, the Via XX Settembre in Genoa, also called Via Venti by the Genoese, is named after the capture of Rome on 20 September 1870, which clinched the unification of Italy (Risorgimento). It is a major east-west street from the city centre (at Piazza de Ferrari / Portoria) towards the East and San Vincenzo.

Must be one of the most beautiful HQ of all diving related companies

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks, Jale and Sam, for the likes. And yes, indeed, a fine looking plant. Closed post-globalisation factories in western countries tend to be derelict, depressing edifices with all their windows broken by vandals. From what I've seen online, recent attempts have been made to convert such large-scale industrial premises in some countries to appartment blocks and even to museums.

And on now to Aquatic snorkel-masks. Let us start with the pair of Aquatic models that appear in Fabio Vitale's review of 1950s masks: Saturno and Orsa. Saturno first.

Italian: "Maschera Saturno Aquatic. Ampia carcassa in robusta gomma blu, cristallo ovale e snorkel con sfera galleggiante".
Rough translation: "Aquatic Saturno Mask. Large body made of robust blue rubber. Oval lens. Snorkel with floating ball".

"Saturno" is Italian for "Saturn", the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in our solar system. Last time I reviewed the "Nadir" snorkel. The product namers at the Fabbrica Italiana Plastici seem to have looked to the night sky for inspiration, adopting as they did the names of astronomical terms and celestial bodies.

As for the design of the Saturno, what we have here is a high-volume mask with a single snorkel emerging from a socket on the wearer's left. Like the Nadir snorkel, the barrel is topped with a shut-off valve operated by a small buoy on one end of a hinged lever and a soft seal attached at the other end. The mask body is made of strong rubber, serving as a reminder that plastic was not the only material used in the Aquatic range of basic diving equipment, notwithstanding the company name.

The 1958 Rex-Hevea catalogue included the Aquatic Saturno:

Italian: "SATURNO AQUATIC: ampia carcassa in robusta gomma blu, cristallo ovale e snorkel con sfera galleggiante.
English: "Ample frame in sturdy blue rubber, oval glass and snorkel with a spherical float valve."
My translation: "AQUATIC SATURNO: Large robust blue rubber body, oval window and snorkel with floating ball valve."

 

[David Wilson]

Our second Aquatic snorkel-mask of the day is the Orsa. Let us start with the entry in Fabio Vitale's article:

Italian: "Maschera Orsa Aquatic. Costruita in materiale plastico variamente colorato o anche trasparente".
Rough translation: "Aquatic Orsa Mask. Made of plastic material variously coloured or even transparent".

"Orsa" may be Italian for a "she-bear", a female bear, but the choice of name is likelier to have been inspired by the two constellations Ursa Major (Italian: Orsa Maggiore) and Ursa Minor (Italian: Orsa Minore), which are also known respectively in North America as the "Big Dipper" and the "Little Dipper". Both constellations have "panhandles" of stars (see image above), which were likened in ancient times to the tails of an adult female bear (Latin: "ursa maior") and a young bear cub (Latin: "ursa minor"). So there.

What inspired the Aquatic brand developers to name their snorkel-mask "Orsa" may have been a passing resemblance between the "tail" stars of the two constellations and the single snorkel tube protruding from the side of the mask body. While the latter hypothesis remains a matter of conjecture, what is not at issue is the material ussed for the body of the mask, namely soft "Marvil" plastic, which could be brightly coloured or even transparent.

The Rex-Hevea catalogue also featured the Orsa in its 1958 edition:

Italian: "ORSA AQUATIC: costruita completamente in materiale plastico deriva dall’occhiale Sirio con l’applicazione di snorkel a sfera galleggiante; la carcassa può essere variamente colorata o trasparente".
English: "Constructed completely in plastic material similar in type to the single glass goggle Sirio with the addition of a snorkel with a ball float; the frame may be in various colours or transparent".
My translation: "AQUATIC ORSA: Constructed entirely of plastic material, a Sirio goggle derivative fitted with a floating ball snorkel; body may be variously coloured or transparent".

The catalogue entry compares the Orsa snorkel-mask to the Aquatic Sirio and Junior snorkel-less models above.

 

[David Wilson]

The Aquatic Orsa snorkel-mask also appeared in the 1959 catalogue of Pieraccione Sport:

It is priced back then at 1,000 lire. The preamble on the right-hand page mentions the unique Marvil plastic material and the export of Aquatic products to other countries.

Now for some auction pictures of the Aquatic Orsa:

Enough said for today. Back midweek with the rest of the Aquatic snorkel-mask range. In the meantime, stay safe and keep well. Here in the UK, we are passing another milestone in lockdown easing on Monday, when cafés, pubs and restaurants will be allowed to offer their customers the experience of eating and drinking indoors once again.

 

[David Wilson]

Today we complete our review of Aquatic snorkel-masks. Let us refresh our memory of the following entry in the 1959 Pieraccione Sport:

The section devoted to "Maschere con respiratore incorporato", masks with built-in breathing tubes, contains four entries. Last time we covered the basic Orsa model, which was priced at 1,000 lire, fitted with one snorkel and available in assorted colours. There was also an enhanced version of the Orsa called the "Orsa Export". To justify its dearer 1,600 lire price tag, this model came with a fixing band, a white body and a yellow filter-glass face plate.

The Pieraccione catalogue listed an Aquatic Orsina snorkel-mask with the same characteristics as the basic Orsa, namely a single snorkel and a range of colours. It cost 900 lire and the intended users were "bambini", i.e. children. "Orsina" is an Italian girl's name meaning "little she-bear" or "female bear cub". It is a derivative of "Orso" and "Orsa", Italian names meaning "male bear" and "female bear" respectively.

 

[David Wilson]

The last item on the 1959 Pieraccione catalogue list of Aquatic snorkel-masks was the "Orione" model, whose description suggests a dual-snorkel version of the basic Orsa with the same colour range. "Orione" is Italian for "Orion", one of the most conspicuous and recognisable constellations (see above) in the night sky. It is named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. The row of three stars at the centre is said to represent his hunting belt. Its brightest stars are blue-white Rigel (Beta Orionis) and red Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis). The name "Betelgeuse" famously morphed into "Beetlejuice" in the 1988 American fantasy film of that title:

The product name "Orione" is something of a tour de force for the Aquatic brand. First, it sounded like "Orsa" and "Orsina", associating the product aurally with the other members of the Aquatic snorkel-mask family. Secondly, both "Orione" and "Orsa" conjured up the image of very familiar night-sky constellations. Thirdly, the choice of "Orione" may suggest that the underwater product and the mythological figure have hunting in common. After all, the snorkel-mask comes with twin snorkels, suggesting a two-horned "bicorn" creature that a hunter might stalk, e.g. a deer. It also might not have been lost on the product-namers that a mask with built-in snorkels was the preferred choice of certain spearfishermen during the 1950s.

We have a bit of a cliff-hanger to complete today's contributions. Skinner's 1960 Handbook for skin divers, which served as the product catalogue and guidebook of the long-established British diving equipment manufacturer E. T. Skinner (now Typhoon International), contained the following entry:

The tall narrow apertures in the head strap identify this item as an imported Aquatic snorkel-mask. The product name "Orso" triggers some curiosity because Italian sources only mention "Orsa" and "Orsina" named after she-bears, while "Orso" is Italian for a male bear. A misprint for "Orsa", or another member of the Aquatic snorkel-mask family? Back then, E. T. Skinner & Co. was headed by Oscar Gugen, a successful businessman and co-founder of the British Sub-Aqua Club who spoke several languages and therefore less likely than most to misspell words of domestic or foreign origin. Note the identity of the intended end-user of this mask: the casual holidaymaker.

And there we adjourn for this morning. More anon, or more precisely at the weekend. During the intervening days, keep safe and stay well.

 

[WeRtheOcean]

At the time, many swimmers would have opted instead for the grace and comfort of breaststroke, or the now-rare sidestroke,

The side stroke may be now-rare, but it is my stroke of choice when on the surface. I never quite mastered the swimmer's technique of exhaling through mouth and nose simultaneously while the face is submerged, and the side stroke allows me to bypass this and still see where I am going. That's also why I got into snorkeling -- I can do face-down strokes without having to worry about that exhalation technique.

 

[David Wilson]

The side stroke may be now-rare, but it is my stroke of choice when on the surface. I never quite mastered the swimmer's technique of exhaling through mouth and nose simultaneously while the face is submerged, and the side stroke allows me to bypass this and still see where I am going. That's also why I got into snorkeling -- I can do face-down strokes without having to worry about that exhalation technique.

The side stroke was my late father's favourite swimming stroke too. I've read somewhere that the side stroke actually also had a racing version, the trudgeon, named after its inventor. In the early 1960s, I was never taught side stroke during swimming lessons at my secondary school, which had its own pool; just crawl, breaststroke and backstroke. The butterfly/dolphin stroke was confined to members of the school swim team.

One of the downsides of competitive swimming is that competition has hastened the decline of strokes that don't necessarily deliver the racing speeds that contest organisers and spectators have come to expect. Outside a swimming pool, manoeuvrability and endurance are just as important, or even more important, life-saving/swimming/snorkelling skills that ought to be developed for their own sake, regardless of velocity.

 

[dmaziuk]

The side stroke was my late father's favourite swimming stroke too. I've read somewhere that the side stroke actually also had a racing version, the trudgeon, named after its inventor. In the early 1960s, I was never taught side stroke during swimming lessons at my secondary school, which had its own pool; just crawl, breaststroke and backstroke. The butterfly/dolphin stroke was confined to members of the school swim team.

One of the downsides of competitive swimming is that competition has hastened the decline of strokes that don't necessarily deliver the racing speeds that contest organisers and spectators have come to expect. Outside a swimming pool, manoeuvrability and endurance are just as important, or even more important, life-saving/swimming/snorkelling skills that ought to be developed for their own sake, regardless of velocity.

FINA only recognizes 4 styles AFAIK. Of those front crawl is the fastest, so while freestyle is technically "any recognized style", in practice everybody swims front crawl in freestyle races, so the two are now synonymous.

Bat is special as it requires a lot of strength and a lot of shoulder and back flexibility, Michael Phelps apparently has a relatively long torso and is rumoured to have a joint in the middle of his spine on top of that. I.e. not many people can do it well.

Sidestroke never made it to official races and so is rarely taught in competitive swimming schools. I believe they do teach it to lifeguards in many places/agencies: it's the best option for towing someone/something. It's also the best option for divers IMO.