Copyright 2007 T. Sheil & A. Sheil All Rights Reserved
People over a certain age remember a children's television show called "Diver Dan." The hero was a deep sea diver, and his adventures involved characters such as fish, mollusks, crustaceans and a mermaid named Minerva. Most memorable was the them song:
Below in the deep there's adventure and danger;
That's where
you'll find Diver Dan!
The sights that he sees are surprising and
stranger
Than ever you'll see on the land!
He moves among creatures
Of
frightening features:
Flashing teeth, slashing jaws,
Flapping fins,
snapping claws!
He protects and he saves
His friends under the
waves;
That's where you'll find Diver Dan!.
For so many of our generation, Diver Dan was our introduction to the deep sea diver, miniatures of which graced many a home aquarium. These type divers have been around for a long time. In the days before the aqualung type portable air tanks, they were the only ones who could work underwater. Back then, air was pumped to them via hoses connected to their helmets. Even after Jacques Cousteau invented the "frogman" type of dive gear, helmeted deep sea divers continued to work in the deep. Their pressurized suits and helmets allow them to work deeper and longer than SCUBA divers.
Miniature deep sea divers first appeared in the form of aquarium ornaments, the most famous being a diver wielding a knife. Variants of these were sold as toys. Plastic toy sets with deep sea divers were made by palmer and Ideal. Palmer's assortment consisted of frogmen, deep sea divers, dive equipment and marine animals. Ideal's set of 65mm Navy personnel included a deep sea diver. Hasbro introduced a deep Sea Diver set for its G.I Joe action figures. It included the suit and gear, plus a hose to the helmet with a whistle-like mouthpiece on the other end. Blowing on the whistle-end while the figure was submerged resulted in bubbles rising from the helmet.
Plastic deep-sea divers are still manufactured for home aquariums. The illustration at the top and bottom of the page show such a figure.
A deep sea diver can make a great subject for a diorama. You can make a treasure diver, sponge diver, salvager or Navy deep sea diver. Imagine a scene of a diver fighting off a shark or Moray eel, a diver finding treasure, or a diver inspecting a wreck. How about a Navy diver defusing an underwater mine? You can get inspiration for military deep sea divers by watching the move 'Men Of Honor" starring cuba Gooding Jr. and Robert DeNiro.
Our black and white photographs from US Government archives depict a small assortment of deep sea divers. They offer a glimpse at real divers in action, albeit on the surface rather than underwater.
(We are looking for copies of the old metal deep sea diver with the knife, and any other old metal deep sea diver figures.. If you come across one, please let us know. We want to acquire one. Thank you!)
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Greek-American Sponge Diver, Florida, 1940s. Sponge diving was a specialty for the Greeks, who brought it to Florida. |
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Sponge Diver with his catch, 1940s |
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Diver prepares to work on canal lock |
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Florida Deep Sea Diver, 1940s |
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Navy Diver goes to do salvage on USS Maine, 1898 |
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Turkish Navy deep sea divers with hand-cranked air supply, late 19th Century |
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Turkish navy deep sea divers and support crew, late 19th Century |
