From: "neil foddering" <neilfoddering@hotmail.com>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 11:19:50 +0000
Subject: [CR]Dating Brooks saddles - new aspect
I have a pet theory, which I'm willing to have shot down, that Brooks
saddles with aluminium badges (see right hand saddle at
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v396/hadendowa/Brooks%20badges/ with brass
badged 1930's Sprinter for comparison) date to just after WW2. The saddle
with the aluminium badge is a B17 Narrow with oval badge stamping in the
leather. I have another Brooks saddle, a 4-wire model with an oval badge in
the leather (but no model designation) and an aluminium badge at the rear.
The reason for this wild stab in the dark is that my 1946 Holdsworth, in its
original finish, has an aluminium alloy headbadge, of the pattern which was
produced in brass by 1947. In discussion with Norman Kilgariff (see
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nkilgariff/ ,click on the "HISTORY" button,
scroll down, and click on "Aluminium Headbadges") we surmised that this was
due to the brass shortage in England shortly after WW2. This could also
have been the case with Brooks.