Brooks 1955 Advertisement — It’s the Saddle that Sells the Cycle (Motor Cycle and Cycle Trader)

Two Brooks trade advertisements of 1955, both from Motor Cycle and Cycle Trader, collected by the IceniCAM Information Service. The source file carries three sheets; the third is IceniCAM’s own branding and credit leaf and is not part of the artifact.

WHY THESE MATTER. Both are addressed to the dealer rather than to the rider, and the second says so in its headline. They fill the gap between the 1952 catalogue and the 1957 and 1959 material the archive already holds, and the first of them shows Brooks selling the saddle and the bag together as a matched pair, which is how the firm’s two product lines were being positioned by the middle of the decade. The second is a show advertisement, timed to the Motor Cycle and Cycle Show at Earls Court and naming the stand.

Both are dated by a printed footer line in the periodical, so the dating is firm to the day.

— Sheet 1, Motor Cycle and Cycle Trader, 20 August 1955, page ix —

[Full-page advertisement, the upper two-thirds a deep orange ground carrying a large photograph of a fully sprung saddle in tan leather within a white ellipse, the name below it in outlined capitals. The lower third is white and carries the text, with a small photograph of two cycle bags at the foot beside the Brooks name plate.]

BROOKS

The Finest Saddle in the World

Quality has been built into every saddle bearing the BROOKS name. For this reason it is BROOKS which is demanded by cyclists who understand the importance of a good saddle, and BROOKS which is specified by cycle manufacturers who believe in fitting the best components.

The astute dealer not only stocks BROOKS but specifies BROOKS on his new machines, as he knows that goodwill is the corner-stone of a sound business.

. . . and the fitting complement to the Finest Saddle in the World is undoubtedly a

BROOKS

Cycle Bag

– in Canvas or Leathercloth

Full particulars from the manufacturers: J. B. BROOKS & CO. LTD., B’HAM 3.

20 August, 1955 MOTOR CYCLE AND CYCLE TRADER

— Sheet 2, Motor Cycle and Cycle Trader, 12 November 1955, page 60 —

[Full-page advertisement built on a magenta inverted triangle against white. Six line-drawn cyclists ride inward from the margins toward the text, and a large photograph of a plain sports saddle sits at the foot beneath the name in an outlined cartouche.]

It’s the Saddle that sells the Cycle

Confidence is at once created when a prospective purchaser finds first-class components fitted to a machine. A BROOKS Saddle is evidence of the Cycle Manufacturer’s desire to give his machine the best possible specification. Confidence thus created is shared by the dealer and a satisfied customer means further business-specify BROOKS Saddles on your machines and also keep them in stock.

BROOKS

The Finest Saddle in the World

J. B. BROOKS & CO. LTD., BIRMINGHAM, 3

STAND 54 MOTOR CYCLE AND CYCLE SHOW, EARLS COURT, Nov. 12-19

60 MOTOR CYCLE AND CYCLE TRADER 12 November 1955