Hello Peggy,
What about getting one sheet of CoroPlast and making a custom storage 
box.  You could make a bottom with a folding top or make a separate 
top.  The Canadian Conservation Institute has a great Technical Bulletin 
on working with Coroplast.

I have also used polypropylene boxes for storage in private collections 
where the cost of acid free boxes is too great for the individual.  
There are lots of polypropylene boxes on the market.  They may not be 
labeled as polypropylene but you can look for 5 in the recycling 
triangle on the bottom to identify them.

Elizabeth Richards
Professor Emerita, Textile and Clothing
University of Alberta

On 31/03/2010 8:28 PM, [log in to unmask] wrote:
> Dear Tex-Con Members,
>
> I have been following your discussions and learning from them for several years now, since I was a graduate student in Lincoln, Nebraska. Now I am a curator in a small historical society, and have a question of my own regarding storage boxes.
>
> You are all aware that acid-free boxes are very expensive. Though I am working on some grant possibilities, in the meantime I need some less costly methods of storage. I would like to know what you think of storing textiles in standard cardboard boxes that have been lined with a barrier such as a medium weight acid-free paper (heavier than tissue) or Tyvek. Or perhaps there is another liner option that would be even better? The object I am presently trying to find better storage for is a silk cigar ribbon pillow that does not fit in a standard size acid-free, unbuffered box: I would have to have one custom made. Even more expensive!
>
> I found this artifact wrapped in an old sheet and stuffed into a box that had been the packaging for an electric blanket and which was too small for it. How much of an improvement is a new cardboard box, with plenty of space and lined with Tyvek? Will it provide a safe storage environment for as long as the barrier has its integrity?
>
> Thank you for your advice,
>
> Peggy Derrick, Curator
> La Crosse County Historical Society
> La Crosse, Wisconsin
>
>
>