There are other possibilites beside mildew, Indigo.

For the past 22 years I have been a free-lance photographer, and for the
past 8 involved with the old photos at my museum. Before that I was
exposed to the photographs printed over 50 years ago and later by my
brother in law.

Outside of the ones I have put into acid free materials at the museum,
almost all of these were store in the boxes (acid paper) in which the
Kodak paper arrived. In the interest of saving money, often single-weight
paper was used. That is very thine and very likely to curl after it was
removed from the drier if it was not mounted immediately. My b
rother-in-law was always impatient in the darkroom, almost never washed
the recommended length of time, and was only interested in having the
picture long enough to get the next newspaper published. Many of his have
yellow streaks from improper fixing and washing even tho some are only 20
years old.

My father used double weight paper and always washed the 30 minutes Kodak
recommended (or more if it was supper time.) Few of his have curled, few
are yellowed, almost none have mildewed, and few smell.

Fixer has sulphur in it and is acidic. The  box is acidic. Does the smell
remind you of mildew? or rotton eggs [H2S]? or vinegar? The answer to
those questions might determine the next step.

Interleafing the photos with acid free paper, maybe even in pages of
blotter pages, and carefully applying pressure (heavy book or books)
might be the best way to go.

The people at Light Impressions and at Gaylord have given me good advice
in the past. Eastman House might have ideas too.  Sometimes rewashing,
drying, and drymounting on a support board may be the answer. It depends.
Good luck!

Mary Kirby
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