The 1964 and 1974 versions of this document had a certain wacky Polish style, the 1977 version was catatonically dull but at least vaguely competent, but by 1979 the wheels really seem to have come off. The quality of printing is extraordinarily bad, with most pages being blotchy, squint and barely legible. Many pages are completely and utterly illegible. And what exactly is going on with the rectangular border on page 7? It is like something out of a dream sequence in Reefer Madness.

I like to think that by following the progress of these four versions of the same instruction book, you can detect the build up of tensions in Polish society - culminating, in the case of Romet’s home town, in the Bydgoszcz events of 1981.

Turning away from spurious historical musings to the serious business of derailleurs, the relevant section is page 15 to page 23. The ‘new’ development since the 1977 version is that the Favorit Special (1st style) is clearly labelled as a Favorit.

• Publisher: Romet
• Country: Poland
• Date: 1979
• Derailleur brands: Romet
• Derailleurs: Romet, Favorit Special (1st style)