Sometimes it pays to look...

[DaleC]

Today my brother told me about an old wetsuit in a local thrift shop so I dropped by to take a look. It was no good but on a whim I decided to check out the book rack and found these titles. In total I spent $30:

Primary Wreck Diving Guide by G. Gentile
Advanced Wreck Diving Guide by G. Gentile
Ultimate Wreck Diving Guide by G. Gentile

The Vancouver Area Diving Guide by C. Trepanier
Diving and Snorkeling Guide to the Pacific Northwest by E. Weber
Northwest Shore Dives by S. Fischnaller
141 Dives by B. Pratt (signed)

Solo Diving by R. Von Maier
Shipwreck Diving by D. Berg
The Deep Sea Diver by R. Martin (HC)

Complete Wreck Diving by H. Keatts & B. Skerry
Mixed Gas Diving by T. Mount & B. Gilliam
Deep Diving by B. Gilliam & R. Von Maier

A review of "the Deep Diver" (the most important book in this lot IMO) can be found on this page, about 3/4 of the way down. http://classicdivebooks.customer.netspace.net.au/oeclassics-commercial.html This is a very good resource for book collectors etc... and wouldn't you know, a certain Sam Miller is listed as one of the contributors. Amazon.com lists 7 sellers with this book, the cheapest asking price is $144.99

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for reminding us how worthwhile it can be to drop into a thrift store (what we Brits call "charity shops") and browse the book section. In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, when I travelled more than I do now, one of the things I would always do before visiting a new city was to locate the biggest used book store. My first US city was America's favourite, San Francisco, and I recall dusting off and picking up a few diving tomes there to stock my modest library. In New York, I was enthralled by the size of the Strand used book store and I purchased there one of my best-loved diving books, Skin Diving Made Easy, whose front cover can be viewed below:

The two divers on the front once graced the cover of an issue of Skin Diver Magazine and are modelling two classic fins from the vintage era, the navy blue Otarie and the yellow Hydromatic Champion. Gene Tinker and the Editors of Skin Diving Magazine produced the book, which is profusely illustrated with monochrome photographs evoking an innocent, bygone era when snorkelling and scuba were just about having fun and enjoying yourself.

The illustration above, which I found online, has a library tag, which reminds me about another useful source of older diving literature, the public library book sale. Over the years I've found several great diving titles that way, particularly when I dropped by Minneapolis public library on my annual summer visits prior to 2005.

 

[covediver]

I always check out old book racks in thrift stores for the same reason. I also like old bookstores, the more dishevled the better for those classic gems. One bookstore in Juneau yielded a great number of books for me. The owner informed me that she had bought the books from a local resident's estate.

 

[Buoyant1]

Great finds! I always check out the used book stores, and thrift shops for gems like that!

I found some oddities over the years!

 

[K-Hoff]

I've never thought to look in all the thrift shops around where I live for that stuff..awesome finds!

 

[Sam Miller III]

In the spring of 1993 I organized and hosted the very first US diving bibliophile meeting in the US at my home in Pismo Beach California...The Brits led by Reg Valentine beat us by about 6 weeks. However we had greater participation-- 19 attendees, several telephone calls from with in the US and a number of letters from interested bibliophiles in Europe, Argentina and South Africa.

The under lying theme of my two day event and the Brits evening meeting was that the book stores were currently full of historically significant diving books and they were...in generally good condition and reasonably priced--- However, as soon as the word got out and diving bibliophilia reached the diving main stream they would literally fly off the shelves. And the have--- Yet on occasion a treasure trove can be found..Like my friend Dale C.

I recall one time I was driving in So Illinois --- saw a book store at the side of the road in Eldorado ( some were near the current Melmet Quarry is located) I was curious so stopped for a look see... Came out with two bags full of great books..Some I had and some for upgrading and some for trading

I am certain there are still many many untapped books stores and second hand stores in the hinterlands with a treasure trove of great diving books just waiting to the right person to come along

Sam Miller

 

[jm]

Hi, not to hijack the thread (as if I knew how) but how many books are required to join your diving bibliophile association Mr. Miller? What reqiurements need to be met? Sounds very interesting! Thx, JM

 

[jm]

From looking at my previous post I hope spelling is not one of the requirements. See, I do know how to spell it!!

 

[Sam Miller III]

Both bibliophile meetings were a component of the Historical Diving Society..Reg Valentine was sponsored by the UK group and I independently sponsored the US gathering. As one of the organizers of the HDS At that time I was the a member of the founding Board of Directors and the very first and only "Director of Sports Diving."

Over the period of the next five years we presented three other meets in California and for some reason the bibliophile meets were discontinued.

You did not need a huge collection but a presentable collection of books, magazines and or ephemera . Some were interested in antique documentation and displayed a collection of diving news papers dating back to 1840s, others helmets some dating to the Deane smoke helmet, a number were interested in Sea Hunt , the majority were interested in recreational diving - which is my forte.

I seriously doubt if there will ever be another "Diving bibliophile meeting." But with collectors like Dale and a few others there could possibly be a meeting or a Diving Bibliophile Society in the future.

I note that you are from Toronto Canada...do you know Alex Pierce of SCUBA 2000 ? He has a world class bibliophile collection all devoted to Sea Hunt. Give him a call and meet with him

SDM

 

[DaleC]

I'm just small potatoes really. When Sam, David and some of the others get talking I just sit back and listen.

Sam makes an interesting point in that people collect books or materials for many different reasons. For my part I am most interested in the information they contain and would be more than likely to swap a book I have read for one that I have not. It may not be possible to talk to some of the pioneers of diving today but many of their thoughts and ideas are contained in their books.

There is a whole body of knowledge that would drift out of being if it were not for vintage equipment divers, historical societies and books.

Up here in Canada there is not much of a vintage community to draw from (I have only met one other diver with vintage gear and he was trying to sell me his collection) and aside from the common recreational agencies, the DIR community is the next up and coming thing. I admire their regime in many ways but preserving and practicing the pioneering practices of diving is not one of their strong suits. That being said even they can be a good source of info as a UTD instructor once answered a question of mine by providing some otherwise unknown local historical information.

I also find my style of diving mimics the early way of doing things too. I'm a blue collar guy with a family and (unless I win the lottery) know I will not be doing the high profile, exotic dives that are promoted as the "it" dives of today. I just can't compete in that financial arena. Instead I have found my niche by exploring out of the way local sites and by learning about and experimenting with the dive methods of the past. Books help a lot in that regard as there are no "vintage diving" courses. It's not the WKPP or the Britannic granted but it keeps me amused.