[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Need help cleaning backs of old photo's

[Gary Warner]

Janine,

I do not have an answer for how to get the glue off, but I think that 
you should assume that you are going to ruin the photos in the 
process.   That means that you really MUST scan them before you try to 
get the glue off.

If the glue is old enough, it may be a water soluble glue, but if you 
soak it or even brush the glue with water, it would then most certainly 
ruin the picture.   Such a process may also dissolve the wrting on the 
backs of the picture, so you probably do not want to use more solvent of 
any kind that is absolutely necessary to remove the black paper and thin 
the glue so that you can read through it.

Gary Warner

jankohl57 at aol.com wrote:
> Looking for any suggestions on how to safely clean the backs of old photo's from ca. 1910.? They were at one time glued into a photo album with black pages.? I can get some of the black paper off, but some of it is really adheared to the glue.? I'm desperate to see what the writing says underneath!. I can actually see through the glue and make out letters, so it is more a matter of getting the black paper off without taking some of the ink beneath.? Is there some gentle way of removing the paper without going through to the other side of the photo?? Thanks so much...Janine
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