New Member With A Possibly Old Question

Hi everyone, just joined. I used to collect when I was younger, but stopped, now getting back into the hobby.

Here's my question. I am trying to put all of my loose stamps in stock pages. I have stamps from my dad, and from my grandfather, some from the late 1800's or early 1900's, mostly US and Germany,

It seems my father gave his nice album to a 6 year old kid 54 years ago that thought some stamps should be taped in because they were flopping on the hinges. He probably did not know what a hinge was at the time. (<- me)

So, is there a way to remove the tape without damage to the stamp? I found an article about soaking in water, but I doubt this would work well. I am not sure if they are valuable, but the fact that they are ones my grandfather saved, I would like to keep.

Forgot to mention that the tape is over the front, not the back of the stamp.

Thanks!

ctjazzguy,
It's a tricky proposition. And you've pointed out one of the killer problems... these stamps have had tape applied to them for a VERY long time. That means, the longer it has been applied, the greater the bond between the tape and the stamp/pages. There is an old adage in the stamp world in this problem that, "You cannot undo in a short time what has taken years to bring about".
This usually involves some types of solvents (and exactly what works best will depend on what tape was actually used).
While they may have sentimental value, if they are common variety stamps, I would suggest, not to undertake trying to separate them. Put that book aside for your nostalgia, and get replacements for the common stamps that you may have, and begin a new collection.
Consider, what is your driver for collecting? Are you seeking to "get everything" from history? Are you looking for high value collection? Or are you specialized in particular areas of interests, like world stamps, or stamps with a particular topographical theme?
Chalk up what you did as a kid to the fond memories of collecting, and begin again (if too many are now so adhered). If it's just a few, then consider still, getting a new album and restarting your collection.
If you should have something of high value (And by that I mean thousands of dollars...) then you may consider seeking the help of someone who is very experienced in stamp restoration. Don't attempt this on your own. It will only end badly.

Thank you for the information and that was exactly what I expected. Just wanted to check. There are only a few I thought may be valuable, but I just checked and it was not the case. I actually feel better I did not tape a priceless stamp!

I'm excited to get started again, I doubt I will spend to get very valuable stamps, I am at the point in my life where I want to travel instead, so will just find ones I like looking at and will research various topics. I'm glad to have some stamps that were passed down to me and glad my Dad trusted me, aLthough not sure he should have! haha.

Thanks again!

ctjazzguy: That's a great way to go if you don't wish to invest a lot. After retirement I have gone that rout. I started with the goal of filling a vario album with the most attractive stamps I could find. They were surprisingly inexpensive and look great on that black background. The research part can be greatly interesting too and it's free! Enjoy and have fun!

Thanks to you both for your insightful comments.
My goal was to first preserve the stamps I received from my grandfather/father even though they are not valuable, they are to me for sentimental reasons. I also now have a nice display of what I collected through the years. Both now are in a binder. When doing this, I found I really like the early 1920's US stamps. Will look forward to finding more of these.