For the bible he used the best cotton rag paper available. It was made by an acid free process and the inks, except for the iron based ink used to make the hand written inscriptions have not degraded the paper. So, the bible has survived 207 years thus far without becoming brittle and illegible. The original cover of the bible was badly worn, probably while it was used by Thomas and Mary between 1793 and 1833. It was recovered during that time by stitching on a hand finished sheet of leather over the original leather cover.
Some animal hair remains on the newer leather.
The four page signatures are hand stitched and sewn into a cloth backing. The bible is the King James Version. It is not clear how the bible was passed on from Thomas and Mary, but there are some clues. It seems unlikely that the bible traveled to Samuel E. Hibben b.1870 via his grandfather and father, Thomas Hibben b.1793 and George Hibben b.1818, because there are no entries about Thomas Hibben b. 1793 other than his birth. Furthermore, if George Hibben b.1818 had passed it on, it likely would have been to his oldest living son, Edwin Hibben b. abt.