A couple of comments on the Ideale 92 thread.
1. The 92 was designed as a touring saddle--it was the widest they made. It came in several colors, black, natural leather (which turned medium brown with use), an oxblood hue that is really wonderful--I have one and that's the only one I've ever seen, and I think there may have also been a medium brown as well. These came with either large hammered rivets or normal ones with Ideale stamped on each rivet head. There was, as mentioned, a man's and women's version. The women's essentially has the nose shortened considerably. The man's has the letter H (for hommes) incorporated into the side flap stamping; the women's has a D (for dames).
I've owned lots of Ideales over the years. They are wonderful saddles in general, but once in a while one would just go soft and collapse-- once that happens they are beyond retrieval by tensioning or any other remedy I've tried. This could be either over-all or just on one side or only on the rear quarter where the sit bone goes. I noticed that Jan complained about this with a modern Brooks in the latest Bicycle Quarterly.
2. A couple of years ago I unknowingly bought one of the later non- French Ideale saddles, a black 92. It looks exactly like all the others I own with one exception--there is no brass logo plate on the back edge. Instead the leather is stamped "Ideale." So that's one way to tell it's not a French one. I've used this saddle and the quality is excellent. You may not be getting a collectible, but it will still be a very good piece of gear, possibly better than many of the originals.
Bob Schenker
Oakland, CA