Personal Photo Albums

How does one get pictures out of a old photo album without destroying the pictures?

The old photo albums that I am referring to are the kind where you put a picture on a sticky cardboard and cover, I believe, with a piece of cellophane or plastic. After a few years the pictures become stuck in the photo album and are almost impossible to remove without ripping the pictures.

Public Comments

1. I just went through this - for 2 years....remounting into acid free albums and pages....ended up with 15 albums...... Anyway - go to a good scrapbooking store or a major office supply store and look for adhesive remover in the scrapbook aisle. It is expensive but will easily remove your pictures.
2. try steaming them
3. I have encountered this problem many times over the years. It is very delicate work, and requires much patience. I use a warm iron and a piece of cotton or other soft fabric. Be careful to ensure that it is not a fabric that will melt. Place the fabric onto to picture in question, and apply the warm (NOT HOT) iron over it slowly to soften the glue. Peel the picture slowly away from the glue on the cardboard. Short of this solution, holding the page over a pot of boiling water to create steam can work. It is also tricky though. The picture can fall into the water.