US 'Schrader & Son' Diving Helmet (Circa 1890)
US Diving Helmet (Schraders & Son)
A rare opportunity to buy a unique diving helmet over 135 years old that was still being used up until 20 years ago! It is full of character, has a beautiful, rich patina, and could certainly tell a few stories if possible!
authentic.
The A.Schrader Company started business in 1849 with the production of 2 diving helmets for the Union India Rubber Co, costing $12 each. In January of the following year, they would also sell an air pump for $25 to the same company. Throughout the 19th Century, they improved their diving helmets and related equipment. A four-bolt style helmet and a non-recessed interrupted thread screw-type helmet were offered as the two choices starting in 1849.
In 1887 the company made a slight adjustment to their name, A. Schrader & Son New York. This name change was only used for nine years. They would also continue to produce the interrupted thread and bolt-style helmets. Each helmet during this time cost approximately $75 to $100. The only identification mark would be their stamped name on either the upper or lower neck ring. The bonnets were made in two pieces, with a castellated seam running vertically down the back. Non-recessed neck ring, non-adjustable exhaust valve, guards on all windows, and no communications were standard configuration.
As with a majority of surviving diving helmets from the 19th Century, this example has been modified. Modifications for safety, technological advances, and divers preferences are common reasons. The changes include a telephone wire fitting and speaker cup installed on the bonnet, a Mark V style exhaust replacing the original, front port window replaced with a larger one, guards removed from side windows, air fitting installed on the breastplate, breastplate neck ring replaced with a recessed style, original bonnet air vents.
The helmet retains the original A.Schrader & Son New York company stamp on the upper neckring. The communications cup is stamped G&G Machine - Santa Barbara, California. The castellated seam is visible going to the back of the bonnet as well as the top peak. The front port is a replacement manufactured by DESCO. The original style Schrader brails are present with Mark V style wingnuts.
The helmet's market value based on auction and sales results is $6,000.
We trust this information will prove useful in retaining the history & authenticity of this diving helmet.
For more information and to purchase: Contact us
£4200 ONO
HISTORY OF SCHRADER DIVING
Schrader is one of the oldest names in U.S. diving, second only to Morse. The founder, August Schrader, was a creative and inventive German immigrant who originally set up a shop dealing in rubber products in New York City, NY in 1839, only a few years after A.J. Morse set up shop in Boston.
In 1845 he began supplying fittings and valves for rubber products made by the Goodyear Brothers. Schrader was also a maker of daguerreotype apparatus. His original shop was at 115 John Street in Manhattan, NY . Shortly thereafter he went into partnership with Christian Baecher. Christian was a brass turner and finisher which provided a foundation for what followed.
The two partners, having watched divers at work at a nearby New York Harbor jetty, decided to improve the diving helmets in use at the time. In 1849, with the help of Baecher, he created a new copper helmet. Later his interest in diving led to him to design an air pump.
Around 1890, August Schrader saw the need for a bicycle tire valve. By 1891, he produced the Schrader valve. The Schrader valve was his most popular invention, and is still used today.
In 1917, the United States Bureau of Construction & Repair introduced the MK V helmet and dress, which then became the standard for US Navy diving until the introduction of the MK 12 in the late nineteen seventies. Schrader and Morse Diving were the two original suppliers.
During the onslaught of World War Two only Morse and Schrader were making dive helmets for the navy. DESCO and Miller-Dunn went into production around 1943. In total only about 7,000 MK V helmets were produced by all four companies during the war years with DESCO producing the most, then Morse, Schrader and Miller-Dunn. The scarcity of the latter two are the reason they command a higher price in the market.
Undertaken during World War II. The MK V Diving Helmet was the standard U.S. Navy diving equipment until succeeded by the MK 12 Surface-Supplied Diving BRIEF HISTORY of NAVY MK V DEEP SEA DIVING DRESS:
By 1915, the Bureau of Construction and Repair had designed the MK V Diving Helmet which seemed to address many of the problems encountered in diving. This deep-sea outfit was designed for extensive, rugged diving work and provided the diver maximum physical protection and some maneuverability.
The 1915 MK V Diving Helmet had an elbow inlet with a safety valve that allowed air to enter the helmet, but not to escape back up the umbilical if the air supply were interrupted. Air was expelled from the helmet through an exhaust valve on the right side, below the port. The exhaust valve was vented toward the rear of the helmet to prevent escaping bubbles from interfering with the diver’s field of vision.
By 1916, several improvements had been made to the helmet, including a rudimentary communications system via a telephone cable and a regulating valve operated by an interior push button. The regulating valve allowed some control of the atmospheric pressure. A supplementary relief valve, known as the spitcock, was added to the left side of the helmet. A safety catch was also incorporated to keep the helmet attached to the breast plate. The exhaust valve and the communications system were improved by 1927, and the weight of the helmet was decreased to be more comfortable for the diver.
After 1927, the MK V changed very little. It remained basically the same helmet used in salvage operations of the USS S-51 and USS S-4 in the mid-1920s. With its associated deep-sea dress and umbilical, the MK V was used for all submarine rescue and salvage work undertaken in peacetime and practically all salvage work helmets in February 1980, which in turn was replaced by the MK 21 in December 1993.