The Hans Hass Rolleimarin System underwater camera housing is considered the unit that launched the careers of most of the pioneering underwater photographers of the 1950’s. It is the iconic underwater housing of the trade. If you are involved in any aspect of underwater photography this housing should need no introduction. Hans Hass started its development with Franke & Heidecke in 1949 after his first Red Sea diving expedition, and it was first unveiled to the public at a photo exhibition in Chicago in March 1954. Around only 3,500 housings were produced and were sold world-wide as scuba diving and underwater photography took off around the world. Waterman, Doubilet, Church, Greenberg, etc. all used the housing. The history of this housing is markedly different from most as it was used by professional helmet diver Torrance Parker, not a free-swimming scuba diver. There is a Parker Diving Services sticker on the housing. Torrance Parker operated out of Los Angeles harbor during the last half of the 20th century and was inducted into the Commercial Diving Hall of Fame. In his later career he wrote a history of American commercial diving and his career titled 20,000 Jobs Under the Sea. He followed this with the history of sponge diving titled 20,000 Divers Under the Sea. Both books became the gold standards of work in their fields. Parker bought this housing new in the early fifties and only used it to photograph specific parts of his underwater work, so it did not get a lot of use. The serial number is 824 as seen. In February this year the housing was fully serviced by Rolleimarin expert Devon Tompkins of Pacific Housing Repair in California. From Devon’s service record: “Each control, cleaned, and reassembled using the original cup seals and new grease. Replaced film advance crank shaft, replaced outer seals for the bulb flash sockets, main body seal replaced. Tested electronic flash connection and checked housing operation with a Rolleiflex TLR camera.” The housing is complete and fully functional, and a copy of Devon’s service receipt accompanies the housing. Some of the information noted here comes from the article, The Development of the Hans Hass Rolleimarin System, by Franz Rothbrust, published in The Journal of Diving History issue 74, and a copy of the magazine, and two others on Hans Hass are included in this lot. An early low serial number model of the iconic underwater camera housing from the early days of scuba diving, in very good condition as seen, with a known provenance and recent service record by an acknowledged Rolleimarin expert.

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