John Crump asks "...Does anyone know... when Campag came out with the shifter lever rubbers..."
Datapoint: Shift lever covers are listed in Campagnolo Catalogue 12, 1953
Campagnolo catalogue PDFs at
http://www.campyonly.com/
Peter Brueggeman
La Jolla California USA
4peebee(at)peterbrueggeman.com