diff --git a/vips/header.c b/vips/header.c
index 110d88d8..efa17844 100644
--- a/vips/header.c
+++ b/vips/header.c
@@ -24,8 +24,10 @@ void remove_metadata(VipsImage *in) {
 
   for (int i = 0; fields[i] != NULL; i++) {
     if (strncmp(fields[i], VIPS_META_ICC_NAME, sizeof(VIPS_META_ICC_NAME)) &&
-        strncmp(fields[i], VIPS_META_ORIENTATION,
-                sizeof(VIPS_META_ORIENTATION))) {
+        strncmp(fields[i], VIPS_META_ORIENTATION, sizeof(VIPS_META_ORIENTATION)) &&
+        strncmp(fields[i], VIPS_META_N_PAGES, sizeof(VIPS_META_N_PAGES)) &&
+        strncmp(fields[i], VIPS_META_PAGE_HEIGHT, sizeof(VIPS_META_PAGE_HEIGHT))
+        ) {
       vips_image_remove(in, fields[i]);
     }
   }