onespeedbiker

There is a old Campagnolo front derailleur (shaft operated) on ebay claiming it is rare 1st edition, which it may be. I checked a 1955 catalog and saw the two different markings on the supposedly the same part. The drawing of the assembled front derailleur has the world Campy symbol on the cage, but the individual apart had the wing symbol (same as the ebay derailleur). I guess my question is was there more than 1 edition of the shaft front derailleurs (not counting the Valentino version) and how can you tell them apart?

1974

According to the Japanese book "Derailleurs of the World - Campagnolo" the first versions of the Gran Sport derailleur (which resembles the Valentino) did not have the world logo but the wing logo. There were different versions of these too...
1951 first version cage did not have a hole for the rod on the cage. There was just a round plate. The derailleur cannot slide in to the body?
1952 version has the hole for the rod.
in later 1952 versions the adjustment bolt on top of the body becomes much sturdier and the spring heavier compared to the earlier versions.
1953 to 1963 versions is the one with the world logo.
In 1964 the derailleur is renamed Valentino.

In 1952 there was also the Sport front derailleur which had a flat quick release style lever on the derailleur for shifting. No cables just push and pull.