First of all dust it with a soft bristled brush. As I recall, oilette was a process often used on postcards....looked like canvas texture, the picture was a photographic repro and a texturing stuff like modgepodge was applied over the picture.
You at one time could buy a sort of a dough cleaner. Came in a can and you would knead it then press it onto the paper, knead it again and press again. But I can't remember the name of the stuff!...Was used to clean wall paper.
Another "grandmother's remedy" would be cheap doughy bread. remove the center of a slice, sort of wad it up and press onto the picture....remove, check the bread to see if it has removed any dirt.....and repeat.
Linda C

Silly Putty! According to my mother, the putty stuff you're remembering was a wallpaper cleaner developed way back when fireplaces, kerosene lamps and candles sent lots of soot into the air. Once home HVAC systems improved, wallpaper stopped getting so grungy, and the company started looking for new ways to market their product.

Their solution? Repackage the stuff as a toy -- Silly Putty!

the wall paper cleaner and Silly Putty are not the same thing. Silly putty was invented during WW II as a synthetic rubber....that didn't make a good rubber substitute. Silly Putty only picks up certain types of inks....don't know if it would work on just plain "dirt"...but it would be cheap to try.

Forgot to mention the finish is crackled so do you still think the silly putty will work. Will it pull off that textured modgepodge?

don't know.....wadded up bread is safer.

A search just revealed it wasn't Silly Putty that was originally marketed as wallpaper cleaner but Play-doh.
But it's so highly colored now I would be afraid the color would stain.
Linda C

A kneaded art eraser?

Yeah!...Forgot about them....good call.