Soaking Labels from a bottle: For what it's worth here is how I do it for 1950 or earlier non-foil labels. You will need the following: Pot of near boiling water, towels, blotter paper,waz paper, razor blade (doesn't have to be sharp), and a weight.
1. Dip the bottle in the water for about 10-20 seconds to wet the label and soften the glue. Then carefully slide the razor blade under the label with the blade pressing to the glass. You can easily tell if the glue is soft enough. Slowly work the blade until one side of the label is separated. Then repeat on the other side. Reheat bottle in water as needed to keep the glue soft enough to work. Most of all be patient and don' t rush things. Some glues respond differently than others. If the glue is still very hard and doesn't work well, try heating the water a little hotter. You can raise the boiling point of water by adding salt.
2. After removing the label check to see if noticeable amounts of glue remain on the label. Occasionally you may need to hold the label under hot water on a flat surface and rub off or scrape portions of glue that remain. The label won't dry flat with excess glue on the back of it.
3. Now that you have removed the label your are only halfway home. Next you have to dry it in a smooth flat position. First lay the wet label on a towel and lay another towel on top and press straight down to damp dry. Arrange damp dried labels glue side down on a piece of wax paper and place between sheets of blotter paper . Put some weight on the paper to keep the labels as smooth and flat as possible while they dry for 24 to 48 hours. Most labels will still tend to curl some if left completely unrestrained so after you are finished try to store the labels in a glassine envelope or someway to keep them flat. Blotter paper is re-useable and available at most Office Supply stores.
Of course, try this out first on unimportantlabels until you get the hang of it. You do need patience and a calm temperament "Say honey would you like to help me out here"?
Copyright © 1992 Bob KayRemoving Self-adhesive Labels fom a bottle: Preheat oven to 200F (95C). insert bottle for 5-10 minutes. Remove bottle, being careful not to burn your hands, and gently peel the label off the bottle. You may have to coax one corner up with a blade. Then very carefufly transfer the label to a new sheet of plain paper as follows: stick one corner down and 'roll' the label onto the paper. Smooth it out and carefully cut around it, preferably with a craft knife or scalpel.
If you have been careful, you have a label that is hard to distinguish from a new one. Source: All About Beer Victorian Beer Label Collectors Society.
From:walto@rcn.com (Walt Olbrys)
You have quite a few ways of getting labels off bottles. I use warm water and lemon-scented ammonia to get labels off bottltes....so long there is no RED on the label...seems the ammonia tears up the red....I use a plastic pitcher and hot tap water and only a couples ounces of the ammonia....after the label comes off, I place it on an a cloth that has no design in it, cover the label with same type cloth and add a little weight to keep label flat...usually a six-pack of empty bottles. I've used a Microwave with good luck on the labels that have the glue on the entire back. just about 2 minutes tops, then use a dull knife to get the label off.....have a piece of waxed paper or plain white paper large enough to place the label onto.