Taking the Plunge
Collectors make a splash diving into history at Nation’s Attic annual summer spectacular.
Underwater exploration was just a fantasy until British brothers and inventors Charles and John Deane came along. After tinkering with the design of a smoke helmet they invented in 1823, they developed a diving helmet and successfully demonstrated it on a shipwreck six years later.
Improving the design further, British company Siebe Gorman became a world-renowned manufacturer of early diving helmets in the 1840s. The Royal Engineers recognized the potential of these helmets, and within a few years, the Royal Navy was taking them worldwide.
From there, an underwater industry was born of exploration and adventure, including pearl diving, treasure hunting, salvage, construction, repair, and oilfield diving.
A 1955 Northill air lung bronze
double-hose regulator, $3,000.
After becoming technically obsolete, these brass and copper diving helmets are avidly collected today as historical relics and for their cool aesthetics.
International interest recently spiked when a helmet believed to be from the dawn of American professional diving around the 1860s sold for a record-setting $54,000 in January at Nation’s Attic, the world’s largest dealer of authentic antique diving helmets based in Wichita, Kansas.
At its “Diving Into History Auction” on Aug. 10, Nation’s Attic sold other record-breaking helmets, including the top lot: a uniquely designed 1960s helium diving helmet that sold for $20,400 against an estimate of $7,000 to $12,000.
Rare Kirby Morgan signed helium diving
helmet, Yokohama, Japan, c.1966, $20,400.
Arguably one of the most visually impressive and historically important styles of diving helmets ever conceived, this model KMHeH-2, or a Kirby Morgan helium helmet, was made by Yokohama of Japan in 1966. Originally conceived and developed by Bob Kirby and Bev Morgan, this innovative helium helmet was designed for the rigors of extremely deep-water dives, mainly for oil exploration.
A c.1940s Italian Navy diving
helmet made by Galeazzi, $18,000.
Bidders also pushed two other helmets to record-setting prices: A circa 1940s Italian Navy diving helmet made by Galeazzi that brought $18,000, shattering its presale estimate of $6,500-$8,500, and a beautifully preserved Oceaneering fiberglass helmet made by Bob Ratcliffe in the 1970s that fetched $13,200, setting a new auction record for the type.
An Oceaneering fiberglass helmet
made by Bob Ratcliffe, 1970s, $13,200.
On average, the market for antique diving helmets has been in the $4,000 to $8,000 range, but the best-known diving helmets worldwide, the U.S. Navy Mark V, have commonly sold for $10,000 and more. Arguably the most iconic helmet design ever made, the Mark Vs. were used by the Navy from 1916 to 1984, and their timeless craftsmanship and history have made them one of the most coveted helmets among collectors worldwide. Bidders clamored after several offered in the auction, including the top seller: a Mark V made on June 6, 1944, commonly known as D-Day, that sold for $12,000. It was produced by the Diving Equipment & Salvage Company, one of the major manufacturers of these helmets.
US Navy Mark V diving helmet
made on D-Day, June 6, 1944, $12,000.
Another DESCO-made Mark V helmet from 1945 fetched $10,200, while a rare Miller Dunn Mark V helmet from 1944 sold for $9,900.
Diving helmet used in the salvage
of the oil tanker African Queen, $13,200
Other highlights include a diving helmet used in the dramatic salvage of the 590-foot-long oil tanker African Queen, which ran aground in a storm at Gull Shoal off Ocean City, Maryland, in December 1958. That historic helmet sold for $13,200. A rare A.J. Morse & Son mechanical trigger release knife from 1917 and a World War II-era non-magnetic US Navy knife brought $4,800 each.
Rare A.J. Morse & Son mechanical
trigger release knife, 1917, $4,800
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