Just Purchased An Old Collection. Help!

I just purchased a collection from an elderly gentleman who was selling his fathers collection. Going through the stamp album (which is pretty much falling apart)and seeing everything is hinged. Many are stuck totally to the page. Should I leave them alone and leave the album as is? There was also some covers that were pretty wrinkled / creased from years of sitting under something. Should I slide in protectors as is or straighten them out?

Thanks!

If you hadn't bought it, I would say not to. But as it stands, there could still be some value in scarcer stamps (even if they are Mint-No Gum). I am not aware of a way to "fix" wrinkled covers, though perhaps someone else here could speak to that. Even if there is some value in the album, it will take alot of work for you to sort out what is usable for your collection, what is sale-able and what is trash.

Old collections are often filled with forgeries. I recommend educating yourself about the classic forgeries.

What you do depends on whether the stuck stamps are unused (stuck with the gum) or used (stuck by some other means). It also depends on whether you care about keeping the album intact. If you don't care about the album and the stamps are used, you might consider soaking them off. If mint then some folks have had some success with removing stuck items as mentioned in other threads.

Thanks. Going to try and remove the stamps.

The ink from certain paper, the ink from certain stamps, and even the glue used to affix stamps can all cause staining or damage to the other stamps when you soak them. Attempting to just pull them off will almost certainly result in thinning and likely severe damage. You didn't specify how you intend to remove them, but I'd proceed cautiously.

Hi,
Well, this is where one gets up close and familiar with the different types of hinges. If you are fortunate, the album was put together with Dennison hinges (greenish tint) and will peel off the pages with little difficulty. That is the best you can hope for.

Those stamps that appear to be really stuck to the pages should have the paper cut around them, and then soaked in a pan (I use a small plastic storage container) of warm water. Given the "yucky factor", change the water after each soaking. Of course the number of stamps you soak at a time is dependent on the size of the stamp/paper, and the size of the container. I think 25 or so at a time is very workable.

YIKES, before you do this you need to get a drying book or something comparable. They are relatively inexpensive ($10 or so) and are invaluable to the stamp soaking process.

Scan a few pages and post here . Most older collections were hobby made by schoolboys and have little value today .

I can add little to what has already been posted except to say that I have recently purchased quite a few older partial collections. I don't want or try to preserve the album pages, so any stamps that are stuck down (frequently occurs) or are really heavily hinged get soaked and cleaned. I lose gum on some mint stamps but c'est la vie. The used and in some cases abused stamps usually look much better after the soaking. Really scarce or valuable stamps may deserve to be treated differently but in many cases you don't really know their condition until you do clean them up.

Jay since the album has no sentimental value I would soak them ALL off the pages. If you try to remove the stamps that are hinged. YOU WILL damage some of the stamps no doubt. So soak them off and throw the old album away. Unfortunately people used to tape stamps to pages. Either from ignorance or because hinges were not invented yet. Those that are taped are pretty well hopeless to get off. You might be best off to just carefully cut them off the page. If they arent valuable donate them to Boy Scouts or some other organization or just discard.

Jay, what I have learned to do is....nothing.....just let it settle for awhile. Rash action makes for regrets. What's the hurry. The albums yours, it's not going anywhere. Spend some time with it as is. Identify some of the items. Put it away. Take it back out thumb through it some more. After some time you'll have a good feel for what you want to do with it/them.

stampcrow gave excellent advice. A month from now everything will be in the same condition.
Tom

Hi once again,
Stampcrow has a good point. If you are not certain as to what to do, do nothing - other than taking pics for us and doing your reading/research.
One other point.... I've picked up a couple of old International Jrs that had "the usual stamps" in them, but each of them had some that surprised me - i.e. Hawaii, Trieste, and some of the smaller issuing entities. Of course the International Jrs were not exactly beginners albums, but I imagine a lot were sold for that purpose.

Stampcrow is right I would be to hasty in your decision. Unless foxing or other growth has started.

Hi - I had a similar situation years ago when I purchased an old collection from ebay. With a little TLC and hours of soaking, I was able to salvage the stamps. In many cases the soaking, drying, and pressing left the stamps in better condition than before.

soaking or cutting the stamps from pages is in my book (pun intended) what I would do if I needed or wanted the stamps within. some collectors in the early days sometimes just did the lick and stick with mint stamps. you'll remove gum, but you'll have a nice clear stamp (hopefully. as for the rest...your unwanted are always someone elses wanteds...and think of the easy way to get the young interested into stamp collecting by giving a child a stamp album with a bunch of your unwanteds and a bag of loose + hinges..give em guidance and turn em loose. Think back to when you started collecting...anything was a treasure.