Brooks 1925 Catalog — The Brooks Book

The Brooks Book for 1925, issued from the Criterion Works in Great Charles Street, Birmingham, and described on its title page as “advice in general on the subject of easy wheeling, and in particular with regard to the full range of BROOKS Cycle and Motor Cycle Saddles and Accessories as catalogued herein.” Like the 1927 book it carries no List No.: the year is printed on the title page. The telephone is Central 3670, the number Brooks still prints in 1935. There is no London Depot line, which the 1927 title page does carry, so the depot opens between the two books. A previous owner has written “1925.” in ink at the head of the front cover.

The book is written throughout in the first person and signed, on printed page 4 and again on printed page 21, “Wheelman.” Its display headings are single words or short phrases set in green — LUXURY, SERVICE, SUMPTUOUS, BOUNCELESS, RESILIENCE, MULTUM IN PARVO, SUPPLE MATTRESS — and a green rule at the foot of nearly every page reads “BROOKS SADDLES FOR EASY WHEELING.” Printed page 44, the last, reads “BROOKS SADDLES FOR DURABILITY” instead. The 1927 book abandons all of this for italic orange phrase headings and no foot rule.

Four things make this book worth citing.

The first is the sentence most often quoted from any Brooks catalogue. On printed page 27, under the heading RACING-SUPPLE and the subtitle “Fitted with the Famous Supple Mattress,” the B 185 is introduced with the words: “ALL the suppleness is in the mattress, save just enough rubber in the buffer shock absorbers to tone down the 80 m.p.h. pot-hole frightfulness.”

The second is on printed page 24. Describing the supple mattress used across the motor cycle Supple Seats, the book gives both the figure and the phrase that are usually attributed to a later catalogue: “That centre laminated spring, with nine leaves, is most ready for work,” and “The spring steel is highly tempered, the coils being wound from finest piano wire.”

The third is the B 28 on printed page 10, headed MULTUM IN PARVO, whose description ends: “Rubber buffers act the part of shock-absorbers between the stranded wire coils and the downward hangers.” The B 28 is a cycle saddle, not a motor cycle one. It is therefore already carrying rubber-buffer shock absorbers on a bicycle in 1925, at the same price it is sold for in the 1927 book.

The fourth is the No. 3 on printed page 15, headed SERVICE. It is already sold as a “CARRIER SADDLE,” already has the 2-ply leather top, and its badge already reads CARRIER No3 MODEL. It is also designated “Army. Mark 3.” beneath “Gentlemen’s Model only,” a designation the 1927 book drops. The 1925 text invokes “the O.K. of Government Departments” and “the outrages of a decade of errand boys”; the fuller list naming postmen and army service riders is a 1927 wording.

One further point of record. The Supple Seat range in this book is not one mattress but two. Printed page 5, headed SUPPLE, introduces the cycle Supple Seat as “this new saddle,” built on a mattress “of spring steel, built up of eight radiating fingers resting on light coil springs, a centre rib carried on four light coils, and a yoke piece taking its bearing on two heavier small coils.” Printed page 24 then describes the motor cycle mattress with its nine-leaf centre lamination, and notes that the two are the same only on the ultra lightweight model.

The book runs to printed pages 2 through 44 across twenty-five scanned sheets, with no gaps. This record reproduces the cover, the title page and the six pages that carry the citable material. The remaining printed pages, which cover the rest of the cycle range, the motor cycle range, pillion seats, screens, cases, tools and leggings, are held in the Ebykr collection but are not reproduced here.

The scan is a low-resolution one. The embedded images run about 1,032 pixels across per two-page spread, which is roughly 516 pixels per printed page, and the images in this record are presented at twice that. Headings, model numbers, prices and weights read cleanly. The smallest body copy sits at the floor of legibility.

— Page 1 —

[Front cover. Buff stock printed in green and brown, within a green scalloped border. Two saddles are shown one above the other against a dark brown panel.]

BROOKS

REGISTERED TRADE MARK

SADDLES

[A previous owner has written in ink at the head of the cover:] 1925.

— Page 2 —

[Title page, printed in black and green within a green scalloped border. A pen vignette across the top shows two cyclists at rest on a country road, a motor cyclist riding towards the viewer and a scatter of riders in the middle distance.]

THE

BROOKS

REGISTERED TRADE MARK

BOOK

BEING advice in general on the subject of easy wheeling, and in particular with regard to the full range of BROOKS Cycle and Motor Cycle Saddles and Accessories as catalogued herein.

1925

J. B. BROOKS & CO. LTD.
Criterion Works, Great Charles Street
Birmingham England

Telephone: Central 3670
Telegrams: Brooks, Birmingham

— Page 3 —

[Printed page 5. Three photographs: the B 145 in side view, its badge reading MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN, BROOKS, SUPPLE B 145 SEAT; the B 140 below it; and the bare cycle supple mattress alongside.]

SUPPLE

WHEN I say that this is my saddle, I do so realising that there are many who would disdain such easy-going wheeling and resign any claim they might have to a share in Brooks Supple Seats.

For those, however, whose first claim upon cycling is “easy” riding, this new saddle (in either of its models) is theirs as well as mine. Flexibility is derived from the mattress, a suppleness that absorbs all road shocks with the rider seated normally. Pedalling is as easy as with the non-flexible type, and I find—due no doubt to the ventilation—that there is no unpleasant heat generation.

The mattress is of spring steel, built up of eight radiating fingers resting on light coil springs, a centre rib carried on four light coils, and a yoke piece taking its bearing on two heavier small coils. Any part of the saddle can act independently as the shock is received. The covering is superfine morocco.

The B 145 has two large coil springs and a pressed steel frame.

The B 140 has three large coil springs and a four-wire bracket.

B 145 CYCLE SUPPLE SEAT (PATENT)
Gentlemen’s Model only.
Seat measurement, 11 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. Weight, 4 lb. 4 oz. Height, 2 1/2 in. to underbar, 1 1/2 in. from underbar to top surface.
ENAMEL ONLY. 27/6

B 140
Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Model.
Seat measurement, 10 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. Weight, 3 lb. 12 oz. Height, 2 1/2 in. to underbar, 1 1/2 in. from underbar to top surface.
27/6

— Page 4 —

[Printed page 10. The B 28 photographed in three-quarter view, showing the loop spring at the front and the rubber buffers at the rear.]

B 28

MULTUM IN PARVO

I ALWAYS find a difficulty in describing this saddle without using the word “ingenious.” The clever way in which the comfort is contrived, without recourse to large springs, which materially increase the height above the seat pillar, is a point that always appeals to me.

Maybe too, it’s a case of “love at first sight,” for surely this is as pretty a saddle as ever was—and I’m always susceptible to beauty’s charms. I fancy the beauty is largely dependent on the cleverness—nothing superficial of course—but just natural elegance and graceful poise. Rubber buffers act the part of shock-absorbers between the stranded wire coils and the downward hangers.

B 28 CYCLE SADDLE, HAMMOCK PRINCIPLE.
Gentlemen’s Model only.
SIZE 1 Seat measurement, 10 1/2 x 8 1/2 in. Weight, 2 lb. 10 oz. Height, 2 1/2 in.
ENAMEL 20/6 NICKEL 24/6
SIZE 3 Seat measurement, 12 x 9 1/4 in. Weight, 2 lb. 15 oz. Height, 2 1/2 in.
ENAMEL ONLY. 24/6

BROOKS SADDLES FOR EASY WHEELING

— Page 5 —

[Printed page 15. The No. 3 photographed in side view. The badge reads MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN, BROOKS, CARRIER No3 MODEL.]

SERVICE

THERE is little to distinguish this model from the ATHLETIC type described overleaf.

Possibly the designer’s assumption was that Service users would all be riders of the athletic type, that they would be on the average of hefty build, and that the usage would be certainly constant and probably severe.

Such, at any rate I assume, is the reason for stiffening up of the B 10 type until it has the O.K. of Government Departments, and incidentally so that it shall defy the outrages of a decade of errand boys.

There is a 2-ply leather top to this saddle which acts as a support to the upper surface, and so preserves the shape under all weather conditions.

No. 3 CARRIER SADDLE
Gentlemen’s Model only.
Army. Mark 3.
Seat measurement, 11 1/2 x 9 in. Weight, 1 lb. 13 oz. Height, 2 in.
ENAMEL FINISH ONLY. 15/6

BROOKS SADDLES FOR EASY WHEELING

— Page 6 —

[Printed pages 22 and 23. Printed page 22 shows the cantilever seat in three-quarter view, its badge reading BROOKS B600, with inset drawings of the adjustment pillar and the universal carrier fixing. Printed page 23 shows the complete sprung assembly mounted over a rear carrier, with a circular inset detailing the adjustment pillar.]

[Printed page 22.]

LUXURY

I KNOW of no better advice to pass along to any motor-cyclist who gives comfort first place in his requirements, than to tell him plainly to fit a Cantilever Saddle.

The length of springs alone will suggest responsiveness to the slightest road irregularity.

The slenderness of the springs is responsible for their efficiency, yet so scientifically are they made and assembled, that a 20 stone rider need not fear for their strength over the roughest roads.

Coupled and compensated in action, the seat is given vertical and parallel motion in relation to the machine—this is the ideal action. Lateral stability is assured by the substantial bearings and the four-point anchorage.

To suit all riding weights, the tension on the springs can be increased for heavier, or reduced for lighter riders, by lowering or raising the adjustment pillar at the rear, shown inset.

The seat can be tilted as desired; and set further forward or backward by means of slots in the under plate.

The seat is padded with horsehair, I can vouch for its comfortable shape; and for wearing—well, it is Morocco—both supple and durable.

For attaching to some carriers the universal fixing may be necessary or a small peg for taking the adjustment pillar.

[Printed page 23.]

B 600 COMPENSATING CANTILEVER SPRING SADDLE (PATENT).
Seat measurement, 12 1/2 in. front to back x 12 1/2 in. wide. Weight, 16 lb.
65/-

B 650 Seat measurement, 12 in. front to back x 10 1/2 in. wide. Weight, 14 lb.
60/-

B 700 Seat measurement, 13 in. front to back x 14 in. wide. Weight, 17 lb. 6 oz.
80/-

Pegs for fitting to certain carriers, 3/- per pair.
Springs can be varied in span to suit all carriers.
(Prices do not include the carrier to which the saddle is fixed).
B 600 and B 700 can be supplied with extra long springs, suitable for some big twin machines. No extra charge.

— Page 7 —

[Printed page 24. A large photograph of the bare supple mattress, its leaf fingers radiating over a row of coil springs, with the cantle plate at the rear.]

SUPPLE MATTRESS

THERE can be little doubt about the comfort to be found in a saddle embodying this supple mattress.

Personally I am absolutely under its spell, and would willingly make my “bed” on it for many more hours than business permits.

I like the way in which the saddle is insulated right to the rear edge, so that the suppleness is not limited to the centre only. That centre laminated spring, with nine leaves, is most ready for work, whilst each one of the radiating springs is capable of independent action, a fact which insures the shock being met just where it strikes and with just the right degree of suppleness to absorb its force.

This supple mattress is common to each of the motor-cycle Supple Seats—excepting the ultra lightweight, which is the same as that used on the cycle Supple Seats. The Tourist model has a slightly more flexible gauge of springs than the Sports and Racing types.

The spring steel is highly tempered, the coils being wound from finest piano wire. There is nothing to perish, small chance of any breakage, and always a lateral stability, due to the flat spring, so essential for solo riding security.

BROOKS SADDLES FOR EASY WHEELING

— Page 8 —

[Printed pages 26 and 27. Printed page 26 shows the B 190 in side view, its badge reading BROOKS B190. Printed page 27 shows the B 185 fitted to a machine with the leather touching the top tube, and the Patent Seat-Pillar shown separately.]

[Printed page 26.]

SPORTS-SUPPLE

Fitted with the Famous Supple Mattress.

WHEN I write of this model in the Supple Seat range, I become particularly enthusiastic, for this is the pattern that relieved my own sufferings—it has the happy knack of just fitting the Sports machine. It first of all gave me the ideal position on a most awkward machine—and that alone gave comfort. The frame being divided at the front enables the nose to be fitted snugly down on to the top tube—a saving of nearly 1 in. in height. Then the spring mattress as on page 24, by being flexible right to the rear edge, absorbs all engine vibration, and each leaf is attached independently, so that road shocks are relieved in the direct line of concussion.

The stranded wire road springs give just that degree of resiliency required by the sports machine rider—and personally I feel that in the Sports-Supple there is a capable, and at the same time the prettiest of all saddles—a credit to any sportsman’s choice.

Finest Morocco leather covering.

B 190 SPORTS-SUPPLE SEAT (PATENT.)
Seat measurement, 13 1/2 in. front to back x 14 1/2 in. wide. Weight, 7 lb. 10 oz. Height (to top surface), 3 1/2 in. Clearance between road springs, 8 1/2 in.
On some machines, the Seat Pillar Fitting, as illustrated opposite, also enables a lower position to be obtained with this model.
ENAMEL FINISH ONLY. 41/-
NICKEL PLATED. 5/-

Your riding weight should be stated when ordering.

[Printed page 27.]

RACING-SUPPLE

Fitted with the Famous Supple Mattress.

ALL the suppleness is in the mattress, save just enough rubber in the buffer shock absorbers to tone down the 80 m.p.h. pot-hole frightfulness.

Position, I am told, is the factor that endears this seat to the racing man. The framework is divided at front so that the nose can be fitted actually touching top tube—and since the cantle plate (back bar) has no movement, this can be set within 1/32 in. of the mudguard. To obtain this position, the special seat pillar has been devised; this fits the frame after the manner of a handlebar stem, i.e., the pillar tube is slit and secured in the frame by the wedging action of a cone.

The suppleness of the mattress provides a link of sympathy between man and machine, warding off vibrations and preventing fatigue.

Lateral stability is a feature that will give confidence when cornering—a great help to the speedman.

B 185 RACING-SUPPLE SEAT (PATENT).
Seat measurement, 13 1/2 in. front to back x 14 1/2 in. wide. Weight (without seat pillar) 8 lb. only. Height (to top surface), 3 in. Clearance between rear springs, 8 in. Seat Pillar and Clip, weight, 2 lb. 1 oz.
INCLUDING PATENT SEAT PILLAR. 46/-