diff --git a/backend/src/intake/backgroundRemoval.ts b/backend/src/intake/backgroundRemoval.ts
index 23eb313..eb2247b 100644
--- a/backend/src/intake/backgroundRemoval.ts
+++ b/backend/src/intake/backgroundRemoval.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,17 @@ interface ImageRow {
   original_image_path: string | null;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Thrown when there is no original to put back.
+ *
+ * A named class rather than a bare Error because the route has to tell this
+ * apart from a database that is not answering. The two need opposite replies:
+ * this one means another admin has already restored the photo and the work is
+ * done, which is a 404; anything else means the application is in trouble and
+ * must stay loud rather than being reported as "already done".
+ */
+export class NoOriginalToRestoreError extends Error {}
+
 /**
  * The path a cut-out of `imagePath` is written to.
  *
@@ -114,7 +125,7 @@ export async function restoreImageOriginal(imageId: number): Promise<void> {
     [imageId]
   );
   if (rowCount === 0) {
-    throw new Error(`image ${imageId} has no original to restore`);
+    throw new NoOriginalToRestoreError(`image ${imageId} has no original to restore`);
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/backend/src/routes/adminItemDrafts.ts b/backend/src/routes/adminItemDrafts.ts
index 1b99a7f..8a662d9 100644
--- a/backend/src/routes/adminItemDrafts.ts
+++ b/backend/src/routes/adminItemDrafts.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,11 @@ import { pool } from '../db';
 import { asyncRoute } from '../asyncRoute';
 import { draftQueued } from '../intake/draftingWorker';
 import { nextPriceSource, PriceSource } from '../intake/priceSource';
-import { removeImageBackground, restoreImageOriginal } from '../intake/backgroundRemoval';
+import {
+  NoOriginalToRestoreError,
+  removeImageBackground,
+  restoreImageOriginal,
+} from '../intake/backgroundRemoval';
 import { isRembgConfigured } from '../intake/rembgClient';
 
 const router = Router();
@@ -303,13 +307,18 @@ router.post(
     try {
       await restoreImageOriginal(Number(imageId));
     } catch (err) {
-      // This precheck and restoreImageOriginal's own `original_image_path IS
-      // NOT NULL` guard can disagree under a race: two concurrent restores (or
-      // a double-click) can both pass the precheck before either commits, and
-      // the loser's UPDATE then matches zero rows and throws. That is not a
-      // sign anything is wrong — it means another request already did the
-      // restore, so the honest answer is the same 404 the precheck itself
-      // gives, not the generic 500 an uncaught throw would produce here.
+      // Narrow on purpose: only NoOriginalToRestoreError means "another
+      // request already did this, the work is done". This precheck and
+      // restoreImageOriginal's own `original_image_path IS NOT NULL` guard can
+      // disagree under a race — two concurrent restores (or a double-click)
+      // can both pass the precheck before either commits, and the loser's
+      // UPDATE then matches zero rows and throws that specific error. Any
+      // other failure (a dropped connection, a transient outage) must not be
+      // reported the same way — it needs to stay loud as a 500, so it is
+      // rethrown here for asyncRoute's app-level handler to catch.
+      if (!(err instanceof NoOriginalToRestoreError)) {
+        throw err;
+      }
       console.error(`[drafts] restore for image ${imageId}:`, err);
       return res.status(404).json({ error: 'this photo has no original to restore' });
     }
diff --git a/backend/tests/integration/adminItemDrafts.integration.test.ts b/backend/tests/integration/adminItemDrafts.integration.test.ts
index c808311..29e6f8b 100644
--- a/backend/tests/integration/adminItemDrafts.integration.test.ts
+++ b/backend/tests/integration/adminItemDrafts.integration.test.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { AddressInfo } from 'net';
 import { promises as fsp } from 'fs';
 import os from 'os';
 import path from 'path';
+import * as backgroundRemoval from '../../src/intake/backgroundRemoval';
 
 beforeEach(async () => {
   await resetDb();
@@ -425,6 +426,30 @@ describe('the review queue’s background-removal control', () => {
     expect(statuses).toEqual([200, 404]);
   });
 
+  // The catch around restoreImageOriginal exists only for the race above, not
+  // for every failure. A different kind of throw — a dropped connection, a
+  // transient outage — must not be reinterpreted as "already restored"; it has
+  // to stay a loud 500 so it reaches the app-level error handler.
+  it('stays a 500, not a 404, when restoreImageOriginal fails for a reason other than the race', async () => {
+    await startStub(200, PNG_BYTES);
+    const { itemId, imageId } = await seedDraftWithImage();
+    await request(app).post(
+      `/api/admin/item-drafts/${itemId}/images/${imageId}/remove-background`
+    );
+
+    const spy = jest
+      .spyOn(backgroundRemoval, 'restoreImageOriginal')
+      .mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error('database is down'));
+    try {
+      const res = await request(app).post(
+        `/api/admin/item-drafts/${itemId}/images/${imageId}/restore-original`
+      );
+      expect(res.status).toBe(500);
+    } finally {
+      spy.mockRestore();
+    }
+  });
+
   // 502 rather than 500: the request was fine and the app is fine, and saying
   // which of the two failed is what stops somebody searching the application
   // logs for a fault that is not there.