René Herse bikes until at least 1975 should have hand-lettering. I don't know how long the hiatus was after Herse died, but from 1980 onwards, bikes had decals. I have seen only one style, as on the bike on e-bay. It is very different from the hand-lettering. The hand-lettering, too, changed over the years as different people painted it.
Often, earlier bikes were brought back to the Herse shop for an overhaul and repaint, and emerged with decals.
I know the sellers, and they are reputable. I have bought a bike from them privately years ago, as well as arranged bike purchases for friends, always to my greatest satisfaction.
And yes, that bike is an Herse. In France, I have not yet seen any
"fake" Herse bikes that were convincing. I have seen bikes labeled
Herse that probably were not made by Herse (simply redone by Herse),
but you usually can tell at first sight.
--
Jan Heine, Seattle
Editor/Publisher
Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
http://www.mindspring.com/
>There certainly were Herse decals - not sure what varieties exist.
>The bike on ebay from a quick glance does not have the latter Herse
>decals that I'm used to - but that wouldn't be a deal breaker for
>me. The bike just screams Herse so from the photos I saw there is
>no reason to believe that the bike is not the real thing.
>
>Of greater concern is bidding on a bike from a seller with no
>history in another country.
>
>Mike Kone in Boulder CO