Medals Related to Navigation, France, Jacques Cousteau, a cast light bronze medal by R. Duboc for Robert Laffont, bust right in mariner’s hat, smoking pipe, reverse aerial view of his boat La Calypso, LE MONDE DES OCEANS, 89mm. Good very fine (£25-35)

Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910-95), French naval officer, marine explorer, author and documentary film maker, began his underwater explorations while serving in the French navy in World War II. In 1943 he co-patented the aqualung, which revolutionised marine exploration. In the 1950s he began to document his experiences on film, and his The Silent World won an Academy Award in 1956. His subsequent television documentaries on underwater life opened up the wonders of the oceans to two generations the world over