Preservation advice for an old rig - Broxton Blue Label

[eskimo3883]

Hi
I think the least liklely thing to survive is the cotton tank straps. I have never seen this particular setup. I have a tank of similar age but it had blue non galvanized metal straps and blue ctton straps. Can you post a few more photos of these with attention to the metal buckles? One photo looked like there was a buckle made to hold maybe the reserve for?

Can anyone comment if these are an early USD design?

[dprozinski]

Yes, having this tank hydro stamped at this point would be a mistake. I've had this rig for the larger half of its existence without messing with it, I don't want to screw it up now. I've found images showing similar examples of this cloth harness but nothing exact. These triple bands of horizontal straps across the lower tank seem unusual.

I found this vintage shot of a man helping a woman with her harness; although I think his mask might be steamed up a bit at this point. Also a close example in the '54 Aqualung catalog:

[dprozinski]

Here are a few more shots of my harness. The dark blue splotches on the cloth straps are just water from a fresh rinsing.