@rustjunkie, let's give a little context here - For those that don't know, Jim Bailey was THE guy to restore your vintage bike seat in the late 1970s and 80s when this hobby really took off. His work was legendary, and would be mentioned when you bought or sold a bike if it had a "Bailey saddle". Mention of his name gave extra value to the bike, or at least the saddle, much as a Scott Allison restoration does today. (Is my nose brown? ;o) Same with paint by Weider, who is still painting high-end vintage cars to this day, his work was widely accepted as the best. Unfortunately, rumor has it Bailey departed several years ago, and cannot confirm or deny he worked on this particular saddle. But if you're still alive Jim Bailey, please chime in, or if someone knows him, please let us know?
To my knowledge, Jim Bailey dropped off the face of the earth long before the 1995 reproduction Schwinn Phantom arrived on the scene, and to my knowledge there were no repro Phantom saddles made before its debut, so if this saddle was indeed restored by Bailey, it's extremely likely he started with an original, 1950s Phantom seat- upshot; this auction is likely not wrong that it's a 1950s Phantom saddle, it most definitely is not the '95 repro.
@Jay81, I'm glad you went back and corrected your first comment, I bristle when folks proffer their
opinion as
fact.
And
@GTs58, this seat is most definitely leather. Seller says it passes the "sniff" test, and I can tell from just looking at it, I did leather work on antique band organs and calliopes for nearly 4 decades and can spot real leather a mile away.
@rustjunkie will confirm as well. Another example of proffering an opinion as fact... sorry to call you guys on the carpet with this, but as CABE members I think we should all examine whether our statements here are actually fact, and can back them up as such, or just our
opinion. Many people come to the CABE for information, so it's important to make the distinction.
Soap box neatly put away now... let's go ride our bikes!!
The internet doesn’t lie would it??
