[bregma]

My mother has a bible from 1607 in a shoebox. Maybe the shoe box is kept in a plastic bag. The previous owner, her uncle, kept it on a bookshelf.

They sure don't make them like they used to.

[wl]

Yes, they don't make them like they used to. Including that shoe box, which is not made from acid free paper and is causing that bible to degrade as we speak. I'd urge your mother to move the bible to an acid-free archival box. They're not that expensive.