How to safely remove smoke smell from photographs?

Question:My father and grandmother recently passed away and I had to go through the house. I was able to find some very old photographs. Since this is the last of my father's family, I felt very fortunate to find them. However, my father was a very heavy smoker and the photographs really smell. I had tried leaving them in the garage in the open in the winter, but they still smell really bad. Is there any way of safely removing the smell? Thanks!

Answers:
The first thing I would do is to scan them at high resolution, 300 dpi or better.

Then soak one of the photos in a pan of water with a few drops of clear detergent. Be very careful not to damage the emulsion on the surface of the paper. Move the photo over to another pan of clean water and let it soak a while longer. Then lay it out on a flat surface and let it air dry.

You should keep in mind that photography was a chemical process before digital cameras were invented. Photographic paper was immersed in developer, stop bath, fixer, and then washed thoroughly to produce the prints. Getting the prints wet again should not be a problem, but I would be very careful because the older emulsions may not be as durable as those made today.