Without wishing to spoil your thread, HistoryMan it's worth setting it up anyhow as these things can degrade with sun and time. On our honeymoon, the missus and I borrowed a tent from a friend (after ours had been trashed by some scumbag). Said friend handed over a perfect looking high quality tent last used in the early 90s. He'd used it for a summer on an archaeology dig I think.
Threading the poles through resulted in a couple of minor rips as the fabric had perished. Overnight, a mild gale and heavy rain tore bigger holes in it resulting in us abandoning camping and finding a hotel instead. Before I took it down, I found you could easily push your finger through any part of the ceiling and most of the sides.
Time and sun had turned a once great tent into a tent shaped object.
