In 1832, the Dutch government imported a steel diving bell from Scotsman Hugh Morton of Edinburgh which was to be used in the search for shipwrecks. Even though the Dutch improved the diving bell it did not meet expectations, therefore it was decided to carry out underwater work using independent (free moving) divers instead. In 1833 'a diving bell' (as described above) was presented as a gift to the ‘Emperor of Japan’ (who used it for pier building tasks at Aka-no-oera near Nagasaki). The account does not explain if the Emperor was gifted with the bell which was rejected by Holland, but there is a distinct possibility that it was the same bell for the following reasons:

‘An interesting feature of this diving bell is that it had an air-supply: the next step is a bell which is small enough to walk around with’ ...

In 1845 Hugh Morton sold another diving bell identical to the one which he sold to the Dutch government to the town of Hamburg in Germany. This German bell is shown in the engraving. An interesting detail here is that the illustrator has drawn an air-pump which seems to supply air to both the diving bell and the ‘Denayrouze’ type diving apparatus. (See the ‘Denayrouze ‘chapter for further information about that equipment).

Engraving: collection David L.Dekker

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