How do you tell if an Old Judge has been rebacked?

[prewarsports]

That one looks like the edges might be real (real back) and it might just be thinned down a little (slight skinning). In general look for imperfections on the front that dont correspond with anything on the back (it is hard to skin an Old Judge without some warping or wrinkling of the paper). Rebacked Old Judges dont have a slight bow to them (they are usually very flat). Old Judges that have been rebacked also have wavy edges generally because people glue them to bigger board and then trim them down so you wont have the bumpy edges consistant with 19th century cutting process either. It is hard to explain or even be 100% sure from a scan, but it is like pornography, hard to define but you know it when you see it.

Rhys