Foxing (brownish/reddish age spots) and old time musty smell are good signs of old age. Foxing doesn't appear on all or even most antique items, but most old paper/cardboard items will smell old.
Genuine toning is generally even, not watercolor painted on. Though, if a genuine broadside was held in a frame or such, there can be darker areas where it was framed or held.
For antiques, a black light will identify many modern reprints or fakes, as modern paper often fluoresces brightly under black light.
There are a number of modern baseball fantasy broadsides-- not reprints but totally made up designs. I'm sure there are people here on Net54 who could pick them on from eBay images.
Last edited by drc; 10-03-2012 at 12:13 PM.
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