Light, Heat, Damp And The Sticky Album Problem
Prints do not usually die dramatically. They fade, curl, stick and stain over decades in a spare room.
The four enemies of paper are light, heat, moisture and the wrong chemistry. Sunlight fades dyes and will do it faster than most people expect, which is why the framed photographs on a bright wall are almost always the ones in worst condition. Heat accelerates every kind of deterioration, so a roof space or a garage is close to the worst possible location despite being the most popular one. Damp brings mould and cockling, and a cycle of damp and dry is more damaging than either state held steady. Wrong chemistry is the quiet one, arriving through acidic board, adhesives and rubber bands that stain from the inside out.
That points to a simple rule. Store photographs somewhere inside the house, in a stable, moderate, dark place with reasonable air movement and no risk of water. An interior wardrobe on an upper floor beats a garage every time. Keep boxes off the floor. Use enclosures and boxes sold as archival quality and free of acid and lignin, avoid ordinary cardboard and rubber bands, and separate anything already showing mould or insect damage from the rest until you can get advice. If a framed print matters to you, hang a good copy on the bright wall and keep the original in the dark.
Self adhesive albums with clear plastic sheets, common for a long stretch of the late twentieth century, are a particular hazard. The adhesive hardens and bonds to the print, and pulling a photograph free often removes part of the image. If pages come away easily, move the prints into safe enclosures and keep any handwritten captions from the album page with them. If a photograph resists, stop pulling. Scan it in place at good quality so the image is safe, and seek advice before attempting anything further. A scan made through the plastic is imperfect and permanent, which still beats a torn print and a lost face.