|
Post by Aquala1 on Apr 28, 2017 8:35:13 GMT -8
John, that Jim Thorne story reminds me of a story about Joe Savoie. Joe is a fellow Louisianian, and was a pioneer of light weight diving helmets. He used Aquala suits with his helmet, and one day some of his dive buddies bet him that he couldn't make some super deep dive without being severely squeeze by the suit. He made the dive, and prevented the squeeze by venting air from his mask to the hood into the suit. He vented the expanding air out upon a scent, by installing duckbill valves in the angles of the suit. His buddies didn't say how he could dive the suit, so he won the bet. Also, cool pic from Basic Scuba. If all of these vintage photos keep rolling in, I'll have enough to do a book of my own.
|
|
|
Post by Aquala1 on Apr 28, 2017 9:01:21 GMT -8
DRW, Thanks for posting the pic of Verne Peckham. I used to have that photo, as Peter Brueggeman sent them to me years ago. I lost them in a hard drive crash, and couldn't remember Brueggeman's name to see if I could have them resent. I need to reach back out to him. I also followed the link, and it seems he's unearthed a few color photos. Those would be really cool to have in the archive.
In January of 2000 Dive Training magazine featured a cover by Eric Hanauer, and it was about the history of diving equipment. Looks like it was taken during the same shoot you posted from the Dick Long book. I wonder how many of those photos were in that shoot.
|
|
|
Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Apr 28, 2017 13:02:24 GMT -8
Ty: I've just found the following image on page 23 of an article entitled "Drysuits" in the November/December 1984 issue of Hobie Hotline, pages 19-23. You can find it online at cdn.hobiecat.com/digital_assets/HotLine_1984_11.pdf. In a previous message you identified the model as George Wilby's daughter. The article not only confirms that Aquala was based in Carthage, NC, during November/December 1984, but also reveals that the suit she is wearing is designed for yachting and surfing rather than diving. DRW
|
|
|
Post by Aquala1 on Apr 28, 2017 18:45:50 GMT -8
DRW, I need to get organized and draw out a timeline for the different places Aquala was located. I'm one of those who needs to draw it down on paper. Thanks for helping contribute to that timeline.
Wilby's daughter must have been tiny. Compare the logo size on her suit, to the logo on John Meehan's suit. They're the same size logo. There was a smaller version of that '70s logo, and it appeared on John's suit, but that's not the one on Wilby's daughter's suit.
Wilby was quite the promoter and had suits he marketed to duck hunters, and fishermen. I guess he figured that if there was water, then an Aquala would fit right in.
|
|
|
Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Apr 29, 2017 3:58:34 GMT -8
I've taken the liberty of posting a very rough chronology of Aquala (below) from what I've managed to find out so far. I expect there will be errors that need correcting.
Chronology 1950. Bill Barada founds Bel-Aqua Water Sports Co. at 3720 West 54th Street in Los Angeles, CA. 1958. Bel-Aqua Water Sports Co. issues final catalogue. Range of products include waist-entry and front-entry drysuits, shortie drysuits, full-length wetsuits, hoods, mittens, snorkels and weight belts. 1 October 1958. Manager J. R.Alderson issues trade and public announcements of change of name from Bel-Aqua Water Sports Co. to Aquala Sport Manufacturing Co., based at the same address in Los Angeles, CA. October 1960. Jerry Scandore is president of Aquala Sport Manufacturing Co. 25 April 1968. Company name and address change to Aquala Inc., 223 Richmond Street, El Segundo, CA. June 1975. Aquala Inc. still operating in El Segundo, CA. 18 January 1979. George Wilby, the new president of Aquala Inc., moves the company to 6240 NW 14th Ct, Sunrise, FL. 21 July 1980. George Wilby moves Aquala, Inc. to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. 13 September 1982. George Wilby moves Aquala Inc. to Carthage, NC. August 1983. Aquala Inc issues catalogue showcasing Aquala drysuits in diver, fisher/hunter and yachting/surfing versions. 5 March 1993. John Meehan, the new president of Aquala Inc., moves the company to 16 Robin Road, Rye, NH. August 1997. John Meehan temporarily transfers Aquala to another person operating at Cathedral City, CA. He later takes the company back to Rye, NH. September 2000. John Meehan announces that Aquala is for sale. 13 November 2000. Ty Alley purchases Aquala, changing its name to Aquala Sports Manufacturing Company, Inc. and its address to 850 Texas Avenue, Shreveport, LA.
DRW
|
|
|
Post by Aquala1 on Apr 30, 2017 8:12:02 GMT -8
That's a great start, DRW...thanks for putting that together.
|
|
|
Post by DavidRitchieWilson on May 26, 2017 9:14:38 GMT -8
I took delivery today of a print copy of a 1959 Divemaster catalogue that I bought on eBay recently. On page 9 of the catalogue, Aquala suits are offered for sale and there is an image of a one-piece tunnel-entry Aquala: I have scanned the whole catalogue and uploaded it to my Google Drive at drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bw7z_4bLjOOEZDJJaTEzQk1qUWc if anybody is interested. It is 28 pages long and a 22MB download.
|
|
|
Post by Aquala1 on May 27, 2017 19:45:51 GMT -8
DRW, excellent catalog find. Seeing the Aquala is great, but what I really like about these general equipment catalogs, is how they are a window back in time for all gear of that era. Good stuff all around!
|
|
|
Post by DavidRitchieWilson on May 29, 2017 2:32:29 GMT -8
DRW, excellent catalog find. Seeing the Aquala is great, but what I really like about these general equipment catalogs, is how they are a window back in time for all gear of that era. Good stuff all around! Totally agree, Ty. A diving catalogue is like a snapshot of a year in the development of underwater swimming equipment and allows a diving gear historian to determine what other items were available at the same time as the article under scrutiny. In other words, it provides historical context, in the same way that archaeologists can date their finds more easily when they know where those finds were buried and what they were buried with. Although an artefact may be worth something to somebody only interested in its precious metal content, it will remain useless to a historian who cannot tie it to any chronology or timeline if no information is forthcoming about its provenance. You are so lucky in the United States to have diving equipment manufacturers who issued dated annual catalogues of their products. Here in Europe, with smaller national populations to serve, many diving equipment manufacturers only issued occasional and undated catalogues. For example, one of the main UK diving equipment manufacturer of the 1950s and 1960s, E. T. Skinner (Typhoon), only seems to have issued two catalogues during the period, one in 1956 and one in 1966. As a catalogue collector, I feel fortunate when a catalogue is accompanied by a price list with a date on it because it helps to date the original catalogue. If I purchase a diving catalogue from eBay, I scan it into a PDF so that I can consult it without the risk of damaging the possibly fragile original. I now post it online so that other vintage divers can benefit. You don't need the printed original if you're interested in contents and not in monetary value. The latest adddition to my growing online collection of vintage publications is a scan of the November 1956 edition of "Skin Diver", the magazine's "Exposure Suits" special issue, which may be of professional interest to you, Ty. If so, you will find the PDF at drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bw7z_4bLjOOEdjJ6VDBONkZ3NlU. It's a 52MB download. I'll conclude with a list of online sources of scans of old diving equipment catalogues: 1. Bryan Pennington's wonderful Vintage Double Hose ( www.vintagedoublehose.com/) collection at personal.filesanywhere.com/fs/v.aspx?v=8d6d638a5f6075b5a46a. An enormous library of catalogues with full runs of some for the vintage era. 2. The Finnish Diving Museum's important collection of catalogues at www.sukellusmuseo.fi/esitteet.html. Many European catalogues not found elsewhere. 3. Alfonso Galgemi's interesting diving catalogue collection at www.historicaldivingequipment.com/. If you click "Storia" then "Cataloghi" you will find catalogues for Airdive, Barakuda, Beuchat, Healthways, Salvas, Spirotechnique. The Airdive one was of particular interest to me recently when I was researching Australian diving equipment. 4. The CG45.com Collection at www.cg-45.com/downloads/index.php?dir=Catalogs%2F has a large collection of vintage diving catalogues, some with full runs and others that are unavailable elsewhere, such as International Divers of Canada. 5. My own modest but expanding collection of diving catalogues at drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bw7z_4bLjOOEZDJJaTEzQk1qUWc. These catalogues are ones I "own", either because I bought them on eBay or because I acquired them free from manufacturers or retailers back in the vintage diving era.
|
|
|
Post by Aquala1 on Jun 2, 2017 10:11:59 GMT -8
DRW, I really appreciate you making your collection accessible electronically. For someone like me, who's just getting up to speed on the aspects of vintage scuba, it's a great resource.
|
|
|
Post by tomcatpc on Aug 21, 2017 21:11:01 GMT -8
Here is an Aquala ad from the Sept. 1969 issue of "Skin Diver" Magazine. Mark
|
|
|
Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Aug 22, 2017 6:10:17 GMT -8
That's brilliant, Mark. I've inserted the advertisement you've located in the Bel Aqua / Aquala timeline, which can be found in the updated PDF file at drive.google.com/open?id=0Bw7z_4bLjOOEMGxqbkhsS0RVdmM. Here is an up-to-date summary of the company's chronology to the turn of the millennium: 1950. Bill Barada founds Bel-Aqua Water Sports Co. at 3720 West 54th Street in Los Angeles, CA. 1958. Bel-Aqua Water Sports Co. issues final catalogue. Range of products include waist-entry and front-entry drysuits, shortie drysuits, full-length wetsuits, hoods, mittens, snorkels and weight belts. 1 October 1958. Manager J. R. Alderson issues trade and public announcements of change of name from Bel-Aqua Water Sports Co. to Aquala Sport Manufacturing Co., based at the same address in Los Angeles, CA. October 1960. Jerry Scandore is president of Aquala Sport Manufacturing Co. 25 April 1968. Company name and address change to Aquala Inc., 223 Richmond Street, El Segundo, CA. September 1969. Aquala Sport Manufacturing Co. at 8568½ Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90069. June 1975. Aquala Inc. operating in El Segundo, CA. 18 January 1979. George Wilby, the new president of Aquala Inc., moves the company to 6240 NW 14th Court, Sunrise, FL. 21 July 1980. George Wilby moves Aquala, Inc. to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. 13 September 1982. George Wilby moves Aquala Inc. to Monroe Street, Carthage, NC. August 1983. Aquala Inc issues catalogue showcasing Aquala drysuits in diver, fisher/hunter and yachting/surfing versions. 5 March 1993. John Meehan, the new president of Aquala Inc., moves the company to 16 Robin Road, Rye, NH. August 1997. John Meehan temporarily transfers Aquala to another person operating at Cathedral City, CA. He later takes the company back to Rye, NH. September 2000. John Meehan announces that Aquala is for sale. 13 November 2000. Ty Alley purchases Aquala, changing its name to Aquala Sports Manufacturing Company, Inc. and its address to 850 Texas Avenue, Shreveport, LA. The September 1969 Skin Diver ad provides a second address for Aquala in California during the 1960s, which I think Ty mentioned in one of his postings here. What is intriguing is that Aquala seems to have been Aquala Inc of El Secundo, CA, in April 1968, then changed back to being Aquala Sports Manufacturing Co. of Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA, by September 1969, then returned to being Aquala Inc of El Secundo, CA, by June 1975. Lots of to-ing and fro-ing of company names and addresses from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. I love the use of the adjective "anhydrous" to describe the watertightness of Aquala suits! DRW
|
|
|
Post by Aquala1 on Aug 26, 2017 17:40:48 GMT -8
Mark, great find and thanks for posting it here. Like DRW said, it's crazy that it bounced from El Segundo, to LA, then back to El Segundo. I wish more of the pre-Wilby players were still around.
|
|
|
Post by tomcatpc on Aug 26, 2017 19:23:41 GMT -8
You are welcome! If I come across more "Skin Diver" magazines I'll look for more ads. This one sort of just jumped out at me for some reason. I'm sure that most members of this forum have more older issues of "Skin Diver" and other Diving magazines than I do, so hopefully they can look too. Mark
|
|
kc27
New Member
Posts: 3
|
Post by kc27 on Nov 21, 2017 9:37:20 GMT -8
Thanks for all the information in this thread. I was trying to identify the vintage of an Aquala suit that I had for sale, photos here, Based on the timeline above, it was manufactured sometime between 1958 and 1968. Not sure what to make of it, I am based in the USA, but the majority of those who have expressed interest in the suit reside in Europe.
|
|