How do you flatten out a rolled print safely?

Take it to a professional paper conservator. They use humidity chambers to gently relax the fibres before pressing the sheet under weighted blotters. Trying this at home with a steam iron or heavy books usually ends in tears. The old paper cracks easily if you force it flat while it's dry.

I found an old print in a frame but the glass is stuck right against the paper, should I try to peel it off?

Leave it alone. Moisture often causes the ink or the paper fibres to bond directly with the glass over time. If you pull at the sheet, you'll risk tearing the image layer right off the backing. A restorer can sometimes release it using local humidification, but it is a delicate job.

Can you wash stains out of them?

Sometimes, but it depends on the ink. Early hand-coloured sections will run immediately if they touch water. Conservators test the pigments first. It is never a DIY job.

My grandfather left me a stack of old unframed prints that have been sitting in a damp basement for years, how should I store them?

Get them out of the damp first. Lay them flat in a dry room and let them air out slowly. Once dry, place them in acid-free sleeves or folders. Keep them out of direct sunlight and away from radiators. Don't use standard cardboard or sticky tape anywhere near them. The acid in cheap card burns brown marks into antique paper within a few years.

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Antique Lithographs

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Antique lithographs are prints made from an image drawn onto flat stone or metal, originally developed as a cheap method to reproduce sheet music before becoming the dominant way to share art and news across the nineteenth century.