I have several original brooks saddles from some 1974 raleighs (many of them have a 1973 date code.)
The 'Professional' saddles with skinny black badges are ones where the badge logo has survived. Some have small scrapes and larger amounts of silvered areas than when they were originally shipped.
The 'B15' and 'B17' saddles have a silver and black aluminum badge. In one particular case I wiped a badge with the wrong stuff (NEVR DULL polishing wadding) and the black color moved from the black area to the silver area so now the color scheme is complemented!
Perhaps on these aluminum badges, the black areas were done with oxidizing, and tarnishing over long time periods, perhaps activated by sweat, makes the entire badge turn black. That's the only explanation for why NEVR DULL could move the color from the black areas of the badge to the silver areas (photos available upon request), since it won't touch anodized areas.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA, USA