My Brooks came with punched holes along the bottom edge. It was a bit distorted. It came on a nice Bob Jackson bike from the 1960s. I laced it and soaked it, got it into the shape I wanted, let it dry, and liberally coated it with Brooks Proofhide. That was about 1975 and it is still here. Just across the room in a box. Just got my wife to move from it to a modern saddle.