Lake Chautauqua New York Diver at Steamer Cincinnati Wreck 1908 Real Photo Postcard

Standard diving dress, with its characteristic heavy brass hard-hat helmet, canvas suit, and weighted boots, represented the pinnacle of underwater technology from the mid-19th century through the mid-20th century. This surface-supplied apparatus allowed divers to perform sustained work at depth, receiving air through a hose from tenders above, a significant engineering feat that enabled extensive underwater exploration and labor.