The price includes a 4% credit card fee. If you pay by check, money order, or bank wire, the discounted price is $6,999 delivered within the contiguous United States.
Few antique diving helmets tell their history as clearly as this remarkable A. Schrader’s Son helmet—a survivor from the early days of U.S. Navy diving that was later modernized for another generation of working divers.
Originally manufactured as a five-bolt model, this helmet is consistent with the design the U.S. Navy classified as the Mark II. Five-bolt helmets were used during the latter part of the 19th century and into the early 20th century, before the U.S. Navy adopted the Mark V as its standard diving helmet in 1916. As diving technology evolved, these older helmets were not necessarily discarded. Valuable pieces of working equipment were often retrofitted to more closely follow the newer Mark V design.
This helmet appears to be one of those fascinating survivors. At some point, likely during the Great Depression of the 1930s, its original five-bolt neck assembly was replaced by Schrader with the more modern interrupted-thread design, giving the helmet its present configuration. Rather than simply being a 1930s helmet, it is an earlier generation of American diving helmet that was modernized for continued service, preserving evidence of two distinct eras of diving history.
Interestingly, when Schrader modernized the helmet, communications fittings were purposely omitted. This important detail prevents the helmet from technically being classified as a U.S. Navy Mark IV, despite its otherwise similar configuration. The reason has been lost to history, but the omission was likely made at the request of a commercial diver or company that preferred the traditional “old school” method of communicating with the surface through pulls on the diver’s lifeline. For an experienced working diver, the simple language of rope signals was familiar, dependable, and required no electrical communications equipment.
Today the helmet is configured as a 3-light, 12-bolt model, featuring three windows and twelve breastplate bolts retaining their correct original wing nuts. All three pieces of glass are in excellent condition. The removable faceplate threads on and off easily, and the bonnet likewise threads smoothly onto the breastplate.
On the rear of the bonnet, the air inlet elbow retains a Schrader USA stamped non-return valve. The original safety pin and chain designed to prevent the bonnet from accidentally unthreading from the breastplate are also intact. The old gasket between the bonnet and breastplate is no longer present.
Inside the bonnet, the original air ducts remain intact. The duct immediately behind the air inlet elbow has separated slightly from the interior of the bonnet but remains present. The exhaust assembly and chin-operated exhaust button are also intact.
Mounted prominently on the lower front of the breastplate is the A. Schrader’s Son Inc. brass identification plate. The helmet is stamped serial number 1339, which is believed to date from approximately the early to mid-1930s and its later modernization. Rather than representing the original manufacture date of the helmet, this number appears to document a later chapter in its long working life.
Two old retrofit patches on the bonnet also cover locations where communication components associated with the earlier configuration would have once been located, providing visible evidence of the helmet's transformation during its working life.
Perhaps its most visually impressive feature is something that cannot be manufactured or recreated: its patina. Close to a century—or potentially more—of age has transformed the copper body into a spectacular deep chocolate-brown surface, beautifully complemented by naturally aged brass hardware. Working helmets were tools rather than display pieces, and surviving examples with this degree of untouched character have become increasingly difficult to find.
This helmet is not simply a classic American diving helmet—it is a tangible survivor whose construction tells the story of changing American diving technology. Beginning life as an early five-bolt Schrader and later returning to the manufacturer for modernization, it carries the physical evidence of two distinct generations of American diving. Its early construction, Depression-era retrofit, remarkable completeness, and incredible untouched patina give it a character all its own.
For the collector who appreciates original patina, early American diving technology, and equipment that visibly carries the evidence of its working history, this remarkable Schrader helmet would make an outstanding addition to a serious collection.
All helmets sold by Nation’s Attic Inc. will include a Certificate of Authenticity (COA). The certificate will have a serial number matching a tamperproof holographic decal placed inside the helmet, providing long-term assurance of the helmet’s authenticity.
The price includes a 4% credit card fee. If you pay by check, money order, or bank wire, the discounted price is $6,999 delivered within the contiguous United States.