Mass market plastic saddle or rare early example?
OK, I recently bought a low end Mercier bike boom import (late 60's early 70s) vintage bike for my son to ride to soccer practice. It has fancy lugs and a colorful Raymond Poulidor (hands raised) decal on the seat tube. It came with a plastic saddle that seemed out of place as the only non-French item. The saddle is marked on the sides, UNICANITOR BREVETTATA MADE IN ITALY. The plastic/nylon shell is textured to simulate a leather surface and it is perforated with a pattern of holes. The rails have a satin aluminum finish, but they are in fact steel (tested with magnet). It is surprisingly lightweight and the condition is far better than the rest of the vintage bike. I cannot find any evidence of a Cinelli co-brand logo anywhere on the shell, top or bottom. There is no evidence of glue residue or anything to suggest that the saddle was originally covered with leather. The nylon plastic is quite pliable and flexes in the center to provide some degree of comfort without any padding (much like a modern Selle Italia SLR for example).
I researched this item online and determined that Cinelli acquired Unica-Nitor in 1962, afterwards co-branding the Nitor saddles. I am wondering if it is possible to date this saddle based on the design, logo, etc.? The logo on the left side of the saddle as squiggly vertical lines through the U and the R. These look like cracks from a distance, but up close they are raised mold release marks.
I have since replaced the saddle with a vintage Ideale leather model in keeping with the French theme of the bike and intend to eventually sell the Unicanitor. However, it seems pointless to put it on Ebay if it's a mass market saddle not worth shipping expense.
I posted some pics at
http://ebay.members.winisp.net/