Fig. 13. {top left) This unquestionably successful diving bell was devised by 

 Halley, the physicist and astronomer, early in the eighteenth century. Air was 

 sent from the surface by an alternating succession of barrels, each of which in 

 turn was connected with the bell by a leathern hose. In addition, a single diver 

 could work out on the open sea bottom by wearing the leather helmet, which was 

 tethered to the bell by a second air hose. The bell itself held five people and was 

 used to a depth of fifty or sixty feet. Fig. 14. (top right) In the eighteenth century 

 John Lethbridge said that he used this papoose-like affair with great success. He 

 declares that he often worked in sixty feet of water, coming frequently to the 

 surface for a fresh supply of air. This was introduced with a pair of bellows 

 through a stop-cock. Fig. 15. (bottom) Early in the nineteenth century Kleingert 

 invented the forerunners of modern diving suits. The first design is scarcely more 

 than a helmet furnished with tubes for both fresh and foul air. The fresh air was 

 introduced, for the first time, by a pump at the surface. The second suit leaves only 

 the arms and legs free, and carries a compressed air machine. 



(Courtesy of the New York Public Library) 



