Voit - Swimaster boxes and John Steel, the artist

[Sam Miller III]

Voit - Swimaster boxes and John Steel, the artist

In the early days of recreational diving underwater photography was a science and art of the future..so most early Skin Diver Magazine (SDM) covers were either top -side pictures or paintings of underwater activity...All but one SDM cover paintings were by the late great John Steel, whose SDM covers depicted various diving activities, but mostly about spearfishing, since that was the major activity during those halcyon years of yesteryear. The other painting appeared in a 1959 issue was by the late Laguna Beach artist and world record BSB spear fisherman Jack Dudley titled "The night dive" Willard Voit who owned the LA based Voit Rubber Company,which was later relocated to Harbor Blvd in Orange County California, was a fan of John's paintings. He purchased a number of the paintings and the rights to the paintings to use on his diving products. Voit also released a limited number of 20 X30 inch posters to advertise his products in the shops of that era. These painting are currently impossible to find and the posters, if located, are very collectable and generally very expensive to purchase.

In the 1950s up to some time in the 1960s Voit & Swimaster boxes were covered with a picture painted by the great late UW painter John Steele. At this point in time I don't have a good handle on when Voit - Swimaster began or when they stopped using Steele paintings on their boxes

I was checking some of the boxes that contained a "Wide view mask" this AM and I suddenly realized that box art was a lost art. Modern packaging is as cheap as can possibly be made to show case and protect the product as contrasted to the boxes and packaging of the past when the boxes were timeless works of art.

I made an executive decision which was unopposed since I have the solitary vote to sacrifice one of my Voit/Swimaster boxes and display it on my den shelf. So when I look up from my computer there is a Voit Swimaster box of a diver, who was a friend of mine, holding a Voit gun and horsing a turtle into a boat

I have two original John Steele paintings and several original posters and one Voit poster which is identical to the diver horseing the turtle into a boat and which appears on the box. One of my original paintings depicts me as a 20 year old diving on a 27 pound sheepshead fish at Catalina attired in the diving costume of the day; homemade Sturgil mask, green Churchill fins, wearing a WW 11 GI sweater for thermal protection and aiming a modified Champion Arablete spear gun at the terrified fish...(Oh the horror of it all! Spearing a fish to eat!) According to John's wife, Carol, this painting, because of the color and the expression captured by John of a terrified fish, was an all time favorite of both she and John. When I took delivery of the painting many many years ago my wife, Betty took a quick snap shot of John setting in front of the painting and the AP. My wife sent a copy of the snap shot to John and Carol. She liked the picture so much that she asked if the the snap shot be used in the Eric Hanauer article about John and his paintings in a 2001 anniversary edition of SDM, which of course we granted.

Several years prior to John's passing I was visiting with John chatting away about old times and the mutual friends who were no longer with us. He mentioned several models he used in his painting who were diving in the big reef in the sky; Al Tillman, Ron Church and several other less prominent personages. I have a separate collection of all the SDM/John Steele covers which I shared with him. According to John it was the only complete collection of all his covers he had ever seen at one time. On one of the last visits prior to John's passing into the big reef in the sky I had John inscribed each cover to me and to identify each model as to name, location painted, the price he sold the painting, and current owner of the painting. A treasure trove of information which I guard with my life.Those who are interested in collecting vintage or old" Voit boxes they can be found on rare occasions e bay and a possible slim chance a SDM Steele cover might show up and a very very slim chance a Voit poster my be listed.

You can also find a picture or two in Eric Hanauer's book "Diving Pioneers" as well as the cover of the book which was also painted by John of Eric swimming aoung the California kelp with his trusty Rolliemarine underwater camera.

I never released the painting of me for an SDM cover, so the only place it can be viewed is in SDM Anniversary issue which should be easy to locate on E bay..Or visit me and see it up close and personal as a number of divers have....

SDM

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I’m very very interested to know if the Sonoma County Museum might have a Steele original or perhaps a poster in their possesion?
After all, he did live in Santa Rosa.

I wonder if John knew Frank Carley of Pacific Divers Supply? That dive shop was the first around here and was started in the 50’s. It was on lower Santa Rosa Ave., on the far oitskirts of town, which was the original highway 101 before the freeway was built. Frank used to sell you a suit pattern which he sketched up full size on the spot on butcher paper after taking some measurements. You got some length of neoprene sheet and a baby food jar of wetsuit glue that he poured off from a bucket. There were no off the rack suits at that time (at least not up here), you made your own. I know Frank’s daughter who is in her early 60’s now. I’ll ask her if she remembers John. Maybe he used to come over for dinner or something? never know.

I’m actually amazed to find out how many celebrities of all walks of life live or have lived up here in Northern California in the Sonoma County wine country hidden away from public life.

.....................
Sonoma County, where the good wine of California began!

 

[Akimbo]

I have one thing to say:



I think this is one of his pieces. I have a Printer's Proof of this page:

 

[Sam Miller III]

@Eric Sedletzky
I’m very very interested to know if the Sonoma County Museum might have a Steele original or perhaps a poster in their possession?

After all, he did live in Santa Rosa.

I wonder if John knew Frank Carley of Pacific Divers Supply? That dive shop was the first around here and was started in the 50’s. It was on lower Santa Rosa Ave., on the far oitskirts of town, which was the original highway 101 before the freeway was built. Frank used to sell you a suit pattern which he sketched up full size on the spot on butcher paper after taking some measurements. You got some length of neoprene sheet and a baby food jar of wetsuit glue that he poured off from a bucket. There were no off the rack suits at that time (at least not up here), you made your own. I know Frank’s daughter who is in her early 60’s now. I’ll ask her if she remembers John. Maybe he used to come over for dinner or something? never know.

I’m actually amazed to find out how many celebrities of all walks of life live or have lived up here in Northern California in the Sonoma County wine country hidden away from public life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John was a recent short term resident of Santa Rosa, but it was where he settled down in semi retirement --It would be appreciated if you would check on the museum for John's work. Several years after John passed away his wife Carrol remarried and reportedly moved from the immediate area and I have lost contact He had four children but I never met any if them, there fore no way to also contact them.

I suspect he never knew Frank Carley --I do not recall his name or shop mentioned in SoCal.

It was very common for shops to produce wet suits. The foam rubber material was produced by Kirkhoff Rubber co of Brea California as a method of sealing WW!! vetches and aircraft gas tanks. The late Hugh Bradner and Willard Bascom serendipitously discovered that foam rubber was a great insulator in 1950-- The idea migrated to the UW Swimmers Panel of the National Security Council who declared the wet suit "Secret " since that unpleasantness called the Korean Police action was in progress.

Immediately after the cessation of hostilities Hugh established a NorCal ( he was in doctoral program at Barkley) company called Edco and placed the wet suit on the market via an advertisement in SDM.

It didn't take long to discover you could drive up to Brea give the gate guard a dollar go to the "rubber Pile" grab a sheet of rubber purchased a can of "Black Magic" glue also for a dollar. go home lie down have some one trace your body out line, cut out the tracing and glue together forming a wet suit. ( I made several that way)/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On to John...
John was born in NYC (where Pace Salsa is made today)
His parents were rather wealthy but divorced while john was young. His mother took off for Europe with John in tow where he attended a number of foreign schools concurrently mastering the language of that county.

They returned before WW 11 began. John had graduated from HS and in 1941 joined the USMC He fought in just about every major battle from the Canal to the end if the war and was wounded one time.

After WW11 he attended the LA art institute on the GI bill and began painting UW pictures . He caught t the eye of Chuck Blakeslee one of the founders of SDM who contracted with John to paint SDM covers. I recall chatting with either Chuck or John - that he sold the first painting to SDM for $125 dollars!

June 1950 Korea broke out- John recalled to USMC was promoted to Captain amd was once again wounded

Returned to California and began working for the movie industry. Was on assignment with the movie Night of the Iguana in Puerto Vallarta - It was a small sleepy town, so he took up residence and lived there for a number of years.

Viet Nam began - John volunteered or was called as a reserve Lt Col to serve in his beloved USMC and of course was wounded in action as I recall two times

He returned to US met Carrol settled down in Santa Rosa

Desert Storm began - John volunteered once again to serve in his beloved USMC but was rejected
He had the letter from the commandant of the US MC stating that he had done his duty for the US and the USMC and they didn't need a 69 year old Lt Col. The letter was one of his prized possessions which he had framed and displayed on the wall of his den in a very proment place.

John often stated "The USMC made him everything he was and he owed so much to his beloved county and the USMC" '''

We were friends for many years and visited on occasion or chatted often via telephone,
.... so many memories

Sam Miller 111

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[Akimbo]

Here is one of his SDM covers:

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I have another of John Steel's pictures, on the box of Duck Feet fins. I confirmed it by seeing the "John Steel" signature in the lower right side of the picture. I'll see if I can scan some of it, or take a photo, to show.

SeaRat

 

[scubaho]

 

[scubaho]

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Scubaho,

That is the box that I have, but mine is a horizontal format, and has more detail. I'll take a photo of it today and post it.

John

 

[Sam Miller III]

The late great UW Photographer Ron Church was the model for the picture & drawing of the diver horsing the turtle up to the boat.

John and Ron both attended LA art Institute ;John emphasizing Painting and Ron Photography.

John used Ron in several if his paintings for SDM and this one commissioned by Voit.
Note that all the equipment was Voit/Swimaster: the wide view mask, the duck feet, the molded flipper slippers (they were the worst ever- molded to several foot sizesopen at he top which guaranteed that rock and sand would enter the top of the exposed boot (flipper slipper)- the problem was solved by copious amounts of electricians tape sealing off the entry.

The spear gun appears to be a French made Arbalete--Wong ! It is a very poor Voit copy of the Arbalete. Voit and US Divers were located just miles apart in LA and when they moved to their new location in Santa Ana less that a mile apart.

Some how, some way they were granted a license to produce the Arbalete or by color and material variations produced their own sub standard version of the gun which lasted only a few short years in the market.

After acquiring the Swimaster line from Ken Norris who was a short term player in the dive manufacturing Voit also acquired the Swimaster speargun which was a scaled down version of the famed Bottom Scratcher gun aka Potts gun or Bottom Scratcher gun.

The painting was made into a poster which I once had --but time took its toll and some time ago I tossed it. The original painting was acquired by a long term industry official who is a friend of mine , but I fear he is in that big reef in the sky and the original painting is currently unappreciated and is hanging in some obscure location ---be on high alert for it -- John Steel painting are currently in the 5 to $10,000.00 range

<<< The Brebes family were huge in commercial diving for Abalone in this area-- I was visiting Alex in Toronto, Canada about 3000 miles distant --- Alex had been given several Brebes Abalone boxes, he gave me a 1 pound and a 5 pound box which are displayed on my den shelf...My next door neighbor is Brebes and a grandson of the original Brebes- He or his family does not have any of the 50 year old boxes >>>

So who knows were a John Steel painting will surface ?

Sam Miller 111