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| CLASSIC DIVE BOOKS -
Fawcett, Trend, Popular Mechanics.
Please note: The books are listed for interest only, and not offered for sale. |
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| In their day, they would
have been excellent value - authorative authors, well written, well illustrated,
and cheap for their size and content. These were the Fawcett and Trend
publications, a 'magazine like' softcover book of 6.5 x 9.5 inches, covering
huge range of topics, some of them on skin and scuba diving.
The Fawcett books were published by Fawcett Publications, Inc. of Greenwich, Connetticut, USA, in the 1960s (and no doubt earlier). Trend books were published by Trend Books, Inc, of Los Angeles. Popular Mechanics is of coure an icon of American publishing, an incredible monthly magazine which commenced publication around 1938. They occasionally had feature articles relevant to diving. I have by no means a complete collection of the books relevant to skin and scuba diving, but those I have are extremely interesting. Whether they are a collectors item in the USA I have no idea, but I should imagine that someone is collecting the whole lot, whether they be on diving or not. They would be rather hard to find in good condition because of their soft cover, and unlike a good hardcover book, they do not encourage hording and collecting. These publishing companies must have given diving one hell of a boost during the fifties and sixties. |
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| SKIN DIVER HANDBOOK
Lil Borgeson and Jack Speirs. Fawcett # 443. 1960. 144 pages. "Tighter organization is necessary to combat restrictive legislation, encourage safety and broaden the opportunities for skin-diving fun." And this said in 1960!!! |
SKIN AND SCUBA DIVING
John E. Cayford. Fawcett # 561. 1964 112 pags. Great section on equipment. |
SKIN AND SCUBA DIVER
ABRIDGED EDITION. Lil Borgeson and Jack Speirs. Fawcett # 616. 1966. 112 pages. Surely thats not Dolly Parton on the cover - big blond hair, big... well, you know what I mean. An interesting chapter on Cave Diving, and Killer Fishes. |
HANDBOOK of SKIN and SCUBA DIVING
Jim Martenhoff. Fawcett # 640. 1967. 112 pages. Now thats a nice wholesome family cover, although you have to be keen to lift your girlfriend high when she is wearing a tank. Not too sure about the photo of the speared moray. Why?? |
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| SKIN DIVING ANNUAL
E.R.Cross Trend book # 147. 1957. 128 pages. Covers a multitude of chapters, including Commercial diving and Military diving. |
UNDERWATER ADVENTURE
Bill Barada. Trend book # 188. 1959. Love that cover! Bill asks the question - Are sharks really dangerous? An interesting chapter on Search and Rescue, and Skindiving Scientists. A few Aussies from the Newcastle Neptunes Club shown in photographs - all with dead marine life. My copy is signed by Barada to Walt Deas, another pioneer of diving. |
UNDERWATER
The SKINDIVER'S Manual. Bill Barada. Trend book # 119. 1955. 128 pages. The earliest publication of these titles I would think. Hey, th whole Barada family is featured. 'Enjoy Lung Diving'. 'Explore the world's last frontier'. The photo on page 64 looks as though Bill is doing more than cocking his gun - more like gunning his .... well, you will see what I mean. |
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| POPULAR MECHANICS MAGAZINE
OCTOBER 1945 216 PAGES. The relevant article in this issue is 'High Pressure Diver', just four pages on an aerly div suit and equipment invented by Jack Browne of Milwaukee, USA. The covers shows a self-contaioned diver attaching a rope to a sunken light aircraft. |
POPULAR MECHANICS
MAGAZINE MAY 1948 328 pages. The diving-related article is 'Diving Mechanics' by Andrew Hamilton, a five page article on salvage work. I was particularly pleased to obtain a copy of this issue as it contains an excellent six-page feature on the liner SS President Cleveland, one of the American President Line vessels that crossed the northern Pacific to Asia. I wrote about a sister ship, the President Coolidge, which went down in th New Hebrides in 1942, in a book called 'The Lady and the President'. |
POPULAR MECHANICS MAGAZINE
APRIL 1936. Includes article: Diving Amongst Sea Killers. |
POPULAR MECHANICS MAGAZINE
JUNE 1959. |
