Road Fan I recall measuring the angles rather haphazardly when I received the frame, and will re-measure them for you over the weekend. It certainly looks square to me in person, and I'm not sure how a couple of photographs can suggest to you that I must be wrong... In any case, I still do not see why it applies to your bicycle because this Carlton was made with custom geometry to client specifications, and by 1954 it was common to see different angles used for both front and back on bespoke English lightweight frames. The 1953 Carlton catalog specifically says of the Super Python that "frame angles, wheelbase, fork rake, and section to choice." It was totally custom. Elsewhere in that catalog and also the 1955 catalogue the preferred frame angles for other bespoke Carlton frames were "71/73, 72/72, and 73/72, or any combination of head and seat tube angles between 71 and 74 degrees." All of this was noted in the 1953 description of the Franco-Italia frame set, which was the most comparable one to the Super Python in general price and configuration.
In other words, this Super Python bears no historical relevance to the frame angles on a mass-produced Raleigh bicycle, despite being from the same period. By the early 1950s in England bespoke builders were experimenting much with what we would consider "modern" road geometry, and a variety of angles were used even by the same builders, as evidenced by the Carlton descriptions. This was true of most custom frames of the era and contemporary riders were savvy enough to be interested in such things as well.
I have no idea what happened to your post, as I certainly wouldn't bother to report anything of this nature to a moderator. There's no rule against you filling this thread with photos of your Rudge, but that doesn't mean I appreciate it. You're welcome to edit your own posts at any time, but can not remove them after a subsequent post has been made.
-Gregory