What could possibly connect the breathing tube of the underwater swimmer and the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family? The answer lies in a conversation between brothers Paul, Raymond, Roger and Edmond Pulvénis, who began spearfishing recreationally in the early 1930s and who are the subjects of this biography. Suffice to say Roger Pulvénis has been called “the father of underwater hunting”, while Raymond Pulvénis is credited with writing the very first spearfishing book to appear in the French-speaking world. Both contributed significantly to the early evolution and adoption of the diving mask and the breathing tube.
The Pulvénis family lived on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, migrating from Mauritius to France when the brothers were no longer children. Their first destination was the Paris suburb of Fontenay-sous-Bois before relocating to the south of France where they found a place to live in the city of Nice on the Mediterranean Sea. Paul, Raymond and Edmond Pulvénis eventually went their separate ways, leaving Roger behind in Nice.
It all began in summer 1930 off the Mediterranean island of Port-Cros, where the Pulvénis family anchored their boat in a cove next to another vessel whose deck was strewn with various tools for engine repairs. On a whim, Roger grabbed a pair of welder’s goggles, snapped them on and plunged overboard. Less than six metres down, he watched as several seabream performed what resembled a ritual dance around a huge rock. Back in Nice, intent on repeating the experience and equipped with identical goggles that bored into his eye sockets, he dived underwater at a spot off Nice’s Bay of Angels, where shoals of bass and mullet roamed about.
Turning his attention to catching one of these fish, Roger speculated whether he could launch a spear to transfix his quarry. He approached his physics-savvy neighbour, who told him that no underwater projectile would be effective because the aquatic medium was incompressible. Undeterred, Roger armed a spring-action Eureka pistol with a metal-tipped wooden dart, which promptly floated to the surface after the trigger was pulled. Then he fitted a modified bicycle pump with a steel spear and a spring so strong that the front of the contraption ripped away when it was released. Perseverance won in the end, however, when he skewered a 10-cm mullet with a spear after reinforcing another pump to deliver the missile. Such was the birth of underwater hunting.
One of the very first underwater guns in the hand of its inventor
Roger spent the following months designing and manufacturing a spring-action gun made from a long copper tube, without a handgrip but fitted with a clever trigger mechanism. A stainless-steel coil spring propelled the 90-cm spear, which was secured with a 15-metre cord wound around a reel attached to the rear of the weapon. He built three more identical guns for his brothers. During the summer, the young men sailed to the Lérins islands, Saint-Raphaël and Port-Cros, where extensive virgin underwater hunting grounds awaited them. In the evening, they anchored their boat in a creek, camped on a beach and lit a wood fire to cook the fish they had caught.
Back then, the Pulvénis brothers hunted with minimal equipment. As well as the gun and the goggles, they deployed a curved length of garden hose to breathe through, tying it to the goggles with string. A sheathed knife hung from their swimsuit waistbands to cut the spear cord when necessary or to dispatch a wounded quarry. Strong espadrilles completed the outfit, enabling them to go ashore and store each catch within the rocks. Although they had heard about the first modern swim fins invented by Louis de Corlieu, this technical advance did not immediately appeal to them. According to the French-speaking world’s very first underwater hunting book, written by another brother at Roger’s behest, such foot appendages were cumbersome and of limited use.
Having chanced upon a newspaper illustration of Japanese “Ama” pearl-diving women wearing what resembled bamboo and glass portholes over their faces, Roger constructed his first mask out of copper, fixing rubber beading around the rim for a leaktight seal. He topped the device with a pair of rubber enema bulbs, which were supposed to squeeze air into the mask interior to relieve water pressure on the face.
An anatomical mouthpiece designed to eliminate jaw cramps was attached later to the demand end of the garden hose supplying the brothers with air when face downwards in the water. One outstanding issue was the naming of this breathing tube, which the Pulvénises discussed during the intermission at a cinema showing a western starring Gary Cooper. One brother suggested calling the device a “tuba”, which may have been in tribute to Gary Cooper’s performance as tuba-playing Longfellow Deeds in the 1936 movie Mr Deeds goes to town. Whatever its origin, “tuba” is now the word for “snorkel” across the French-speaking world.
Mask with compensator bulbs, “tuba” (snorkel) with mouthpiece, front view
Mask with compensator bulbs, “tuba” (snorkel) with mouthpiece, side view
As for underwater hunting tactics during this golden age, the fish did not exercise the caution they display nowadays. Roger’s brother wrote, “After moving a few metres away in terror, (the fish) often seems to forget its pursuer, reverting to normal behaviour or even stopping and quietly seizing some prey.” Very soon, however, each species learned how to react in the face of danger, leading the four hunters to develop fresh tactics based on what they observed. While chasing a mullet one evening, Roger angrily struck the surface of the water with the flat of his hand, whereupon the fish rushed over, becoming easy prey. The technique of making a noise at the surface to “enrage” the fish would prove repeatedly successful and is still in use today. With large catches of seabream, bass and groupers, each hunting trip was a spectacular success. Furthermore, when the brothers were seen leaving the water with their fish, they were instantly encircled by curious onlookers.
Back in 1930, Roger Pulvénis must have cut a very solitary figure when he donned some welder’s goggles before diving into the Mediterranean to marvel at the creatures beneath the waves. By the late 1930s, however, he and his brothers were no longer alone whenever they stalked the denizens of the deep. The city of Nice had witnessed not only a steady growth in the visiting and resident underwater hunting community but also the gradual emergence of local inventors who like Roger were skilled underwater hunters as well as significant contributors to spearfishing gear development.
Roger Pulvénis founded France’s first spearfishing federation in 1939. Its members very swiftly adopted amateur sporting principles by refusing to engage in any underwater fishing activity for profit. This also countered harsh criticism from the commercial fishing lobby, who wanted underwater hunting banned altogether.
Roger’s brother Raymond was a medical graduate who had written treatises about rabbit syphilis. In 1940, he authored the French-speaking world’s very first underwater hunting manual La chasse aux poissons (chasse sous-marine), “Fish hunting (underwater hunting)” in English. The foreword encouraged anyone who could swim to try underwater hunting. The early chapters covered particular items of gear, e.g. mask, snorkel and speargun, while their later counterparts contained descriptions and illustrations enabling readers to identify edible fish species found in the Mediterranean.
Front cover of La chasse aux poissons (chasse sous-marine) by Dr M.-F. Raymond Pulvénis.
On a friend’s advice, Raymond and Roger drafted patent applications for two underwater hunting innovations, a snorkel mouthpiece and a speargun, submitting the paperwork to the competent authorities in France on 6 September 1940 and in Spain on 6 September 1941. The city of Nice in1940 not only witnessed Raymond publishing the French-speaking world’s first spearfishing book but also Roger establishing a commercial enterprise to manufacture underwater hunting equipment. Roger’s new company “Watersports” would eventually mass-produce masks, fins, snorkels and spearguns. From the very first months of the war, however, the Germans banned Roger from manufacturing his speargun, deeming it dangerous in enemy hands, not least because it was a silent weapon!
In 1941, no fewer than four different underwater hunting equipment manufacturers operated within the city of Nice: Roger Pulvenis’s Watersports, Alec Kramarenko and Charles H. Wilen’s United Service Agency, Maxime Forjot’s Douglas and Léon Vitrant’s Fusido. The men behind these enterprises were not only experienced manufacturers but also aquatic enthusiasts, distinguished hunters and passionate inventors.
In 1943, Roger Pulvénis applied for two further underwater hunting gear patents, a diving mask and a spear tip, filing the documentation in France on 19 July and on 10 September respectively that year. The fish-hunting spear tip patent FR918851A took more than three years to be granted on 12 November 1946, while almost eight years would elapse before the underwater exploration mask patent FR987989A came into force on 25 April 1951.
Although Roger’s Watersports business swiftly resumed operations after hostilities ended in France, a chronic raw-material shortage blighted early peacetime domestic industry. Back then, the Dunlop Rubber Company was charged with salvaging and distributing all available rubber supplies, which came in a gaudy palette of hues including black, red and green. For the duration of this dearth, Watersports manufactured a stunning range of “patchwork”-coloured masks for underwater hunters.
Spearfishing writer Robert Devaux reviewed a couple of Watersports products in his influential work Initiation à la chasse sous-marine (pêche au fusil sous-marin), published in 1943 and 1947 respectively. The Watersports articles he evaluated were the Pulvénis spring-action gun, then known in the trade as the “Waterless”, and the Pulvénis diving mask, used in combination with a frontal breathing tube.
Pulvénis (loaded) gun design featuring spring propulsion in a sealed barrel
Devaux judged the Waterless gun pictured above to be very easy to handle, particularly for “moving targets”. On the plus side, it promised plenty of power, no water resistance and an operating range exceeding 4 metres. On the minus side, the gun turned out to be not only unloadable in the water but also too heavy, too short, relatively inaccurate and hard to aim. Devaux complimented the manufacturer on his excellent design while advising him to extend the barrel, to replace copper with aluminium alloy and to install a longer spring.
Combination of Pulvénis breathing tube and Pulvénis diving mask with compensator bulbs
As for underwater masks, Devaux expressed a preference for single-lens models over twin-lens goggles. He noted that the Pulvénis mask was fitted with two bulbs to equalise pressure and combined with a rudimentary frontal breathing tube called a “tuba” (above). On the minus side, this mask and snorkel combination was leak-prone, though keeping the diver’s nose and sinuses protected, which was a plus. The Pulvénis breathing tube featured a mouthpiece designed to prevent water entry at the corners of the lips. The absence of a valve from the air supply end was considered a drawback.
During the late 1940s, two more patents were forthcoming in short order. Roger and his co-applicant François Gyorgy submitted a design for a “fan powered by a spring, without electrical current” on 22 October 1946. On 21 October 1947, he was the sole patent applicant for an “underwater breathing device automatic open-and-shut valve”.
Back in 1939, Roger Pulvénis had founded France’s first federation of underwater hunters. By 1957, he was president of the French national underwater explorers’ club, having gradually moved away from underwater hunting on a single breath towards diving with self-contained breathing apparatus. Amid the winter festivities in Nice that year, Roger officiated as club president and local industrialist, presenting awards to the victors of an underwater swimming competition attended by local dignitaries.
The occasion was the trophy-giving ceremony of the first Coupe Watersports contest, named after Roger’s diving equipment manufacturing company in Nice. The event comprised two underwater races held in Nice’s Bay of Angels and watched by numerous spectators. The underwater hunting race winner was a young outsider who outswam his 12 rivals by 20 metres. The treasure-trove race involved finding a metal box submerged at a depth of 20 metres. Despite poor water visibility, the “treasure” was spotted by three competitors simultaneously and narrowly retrieved by one of them.
By the late 1950s, therefore, the owner of Watersports had amassed sufficient standing in the city of Nice to sponsor an underwater event both drawing large crowds and supported by the local authorities. His advertisement below from a 1957 issue of the French national recreational diving magazine L’Aventure sous-marine must have exuded self-confidence, claiming as it did 25 years of experience and a target market of “strongmen”.
Watersports publicity in 1957 issue of France’s diving magazine L’aventure sous-marine
This 1957 advertisement highlighted no fewer than nine elastic-powered spearguns, seven underwater masks, three of them illustrated, and two breathing tubes. A pair of open-heel fins with adjustable strap and heel platform, a knife with its sheath, a weight belt and a couple of wetsuits completed the product display.
By way of contrast, the following May 1961 magazine page finds Watersports supplying the wherewithal not only for breath-hold aquatic activities, but also for scuba diving, which had become both Roger’s passion and all the rage on the Mediterranean. The firm’s mission was now “manufacturing underwater diving and hunting equipment”, the order of “diving” and “hunting” perhaps implying a shifting emphasis from spearfishing towards scuba. Meanwhile, two lines emerged in Watersports spearguns: “Waterless” for older designs with single or double slings and “Dauphin” (Dolphin) for newer models with plastic components. The “Dauphin” product name was also applied to what would have been more luxurious items back then, e.g. the hardwearing full-length wetsuit made from American neoprene, the “hydrodynamic” closed-heel fins with open toes to eliminate pinching and the oval mask with featheredge skirt for a comfortable facial seal.
Watersports publicity in May 1961 issue of L’Aventure sous-marine
The 1961 Watersports advertisement above features two imported articles principally aimed at scuba divers: a depth gauge and a portable air compressor. The former was made by WI KA GmbH in the West German town of Klingenberg, the latter by Ing. G. Radaelli S.p.A. in the Italian city of Milan.
Watersports also exported its output to other countries. The advertisement below offers “Waterless” spearguns at discounted prices in Florida during 1955.
Tower Tackle Watersports publicity in 5 May 1955 issue of Miami News in Florida, USA
Watersports also extended its West European market presence during the 1950s. Both 1954 and 1958 editions of the then spearfisherman’s “bible”, the Vademecum del cacciatore subacqueo (Underwater hunter’s companion) contain entries for Watersports spearguns and diving masks.
During the 1960s, Watersports continued to export underwater swimming equipment to Western Europe and North America. West Germany’s diving equipment manufacturer Barakuda carried no fewer than four Watersports imports (below) in its 1962 catalogue.
Imported Watersports articles in Barakuda 1962 catalogue
Between 1965 and 1968, London’s premier sporting goods store Lillywhites stocked Watersports spearguns. From 1964 to 1967, Guarantee Fit Incorporated of Montreal, Canada, included the Watersports imports below in its catalogues.
Watersports products in Guarantee Fit Marine Safety & Camping catalogue 1967
Overwhelmed by fierce competition from other manufacturers, Watersports finally ceased trading in 1974, when Roger Pulvénis took a well-earned retirement in Nice. He later became president of the Association des Amis du Musée de la Plongée dans les Alpes Maritimes (AMPAM), whose ultimate goal was to found a regional museum where diving artefacts and records would one day be displayed.
Raymond Pulvénis was honoured as “Médecin Médaillé de la Résistance” (Doctor awarded French Resistance Medal) for his wartime medical services in Nice. According to the 1945 edition of his book La chasse aux poissons (chasse sous-marine), he had two further books in preparation entitled A travers le monde sous-marin (Around the underwater world) and Les poissons de la Méditerranée (Fish of the Mediterranean).
Both Raymond and Roger Pulvénis died in Nice in 1997, the former on 22 April and the latter on 30 November, when they were 92 and 91 years old respectively.
Edmond was the youngest of the four Pulvénis brothers. His initial claim to fame was that he made the very first documentary film to promote his country of origin, Mauritius, to European audiences. For the March 1962 issue of the French popular monthly magazine Science et Voyages, he penned an article identifying a couple of Mauritian passions. The first was treasure hunting, because doubloons, jewels, gold objects and silver ingots had reputedly been looted by pirates on the high seas then buried on the island. The second Mauritian passion was the “scourge of witchcraft” affecting all strata of society. This phenomenon clearly fascinated Edmond, who would later write in his introduction to a Mauritian cookbook, “I have not the slightest doubt that the human hand, the best choice in that matter, when well-cooked constitutes a savoury for a cannibal”.
The eldest Pulvénis brother Paul rose to fame after establishing a non-religious cult first in Morocco and then on the French Riviera where he founded a school. He built a reputation as an educational genius who could turn around even highly disaffected students. In 1966, France’s ambassador to the Dominican Republic sent his rebellious daughter Béatrice to Paul’s institute, where she thrived, passing her university entrance examinations but soon dropping out of higher education to live with Paul and his students again. Alarmed by Paul’s influence, Béatrice’s mother had her daughter committed to a psychiatric clinic, where she underwent drug and shock treatment. According to The Baltimore Sun, the “brainwashed beauty” Béatrice’s coming of age enabled her to accompany “The Riviera Rasputin” Paul back to France and “the hearts of a million Frenchwomen skipped a beat.”
So much for the Pulvénis brothers, who migrated from the island nation of Mauritius to the south of France, went underwater hunting there nine decades ago and provided the French language with its term for a breathing tube. This fraternal endeavour was steered by Roger and Raymond Pulvénis, the former an inveterate tinkerer who became a manufacturing entrepreneur, the latter a syphilis researcher who wrote the first spearfishing primer in the Francophone world. Although the four siblings lived very different lives after their dalliance with underwater fauna, they happened to be in the right place at the right time to earn recognition as early modern diving legends whose words and deeds did so much to promote underwater exploration with masks and snorkels in Europe.
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