Richard de Bury, as chancellor and treasurer to Edward III, was lucky enough to see all manner of books. He shared his love of them in Philobiblon, a guide for fellow bibliophiles. But this is how he described what he found in the cabinets and caskets of England’s monasteries in the 14th century:

Books heretofore most delicate, now become corrupted and abominable, lay lifeless, covered indeed with the excrements of mice and pierced through with the gnawing of worms; and those that were formerly clothed with purple and fine linen, were now seen reposing in dust and ashes, given over to oblivion, the abodes of moths. 

Tomes that were once glorious had been ravaged by three kinds of pests: rodents, ‘worms’ and moths. All three of these continue to pose threats today, and not just to medieval manuscripts. They can also inflict injury on the books you have at home. 

Of these three, moths present the least danger to the modern book collector, as they are only interested in textiles. Unless you happen to have books bound in wool or silk (including old velvet, which is often made of silk and is probably what de Bury was describing), moths should