Having had a stroke of good luck which, among other things, netted me a
1960 Brooks B 17 Campagnolo saddle, for a fleamarket price, I now wonder if there´s anyone on the list who would want to swap / sell the
fitments necessary to convert my existing Campag two bolt stem to accept the new saddle. The whole kit and caboodle then would go on my 1962/63 Cinelli SC. So, you see, it would be a worthy cause to contribute to.
The saddle itself had obviously been stored in a barn, or a garden shed, for decades. The leather was not in too bad a way, dry, but not badly cracked, no ridge, no flared sides. After having hoovered off a load of cobwebs and other rather unsavoury creepy-crawly remains, I cleaned the leather with a damp cloth and brushed on a liquid which usually does wonders to uncared for leather. It is called Maroquin Lederbalsam (leather balm) and is made by Maroquin (who´d have guessed) in Frankfurt, Germany. On the bottle it states that it is used by the German Leather Museum, Offenbach. I myself have not only used it on saddles, but also on antique book covers with good effect.
It not only penetrates deeply into dry leather because it is liquid, but it also contains a mild fungicide and some light greasy stuff which
vanishes into the leather overnight. It also vanishes completely from the underside of the saddle, so I usually brush it on there, too, unless there´s a mudshield. After this, some applications of Proofide,
a few dozens of miles, and the saddle gleams like new. Usually it is even possible to turn the tensioning bolt _back_ some threads.
Maroquin can be obtained from Stephanie Rothemund at info (at) kunst-und-leder.de. I bought my bottle some years ago; it keeps for ages. Hope she´s still got it. No connection to either maker or seller.
Regards, Toni Theilmeier, Belm, Germany
(Do I have to write that our state is called Lower Saxony? Sounds horribly medieaval.)