A book first published in 1858 has been returned to an Australian public library, an estimated 150 years after it was originally checked out. The volume, "Antiquities of Athens," was discovered by a man renovating his home. He found the book inside a tea crate that had been bricked into a sealed fireplace.
Michell Hudson, manager of the Kiama Library, stated that the library has never received a return that old. She noted that while it is common for older books to be found when clearing out estates, this discovery is exceptional.
The book's late return would incur a significant fine. Based on the library's original three pence-a-week overdue fee from the 1870s, and accounting for inflation, the potential fine would be approximately 28,000 Australian dollars (around $19,500 USD). However, the library cannot trace the original borrower.
"Unfortunately, we have a missing link. There's nothing in the book that tells us who the last borrower was," Hudson explained. The library's journal from the 1870s, which would have recorded borrower information, has been lost.
Original library rules stipulated that overdue debts must be settled before another book could be borrowed. Other rules from that era included allowing households with at least six members known to be able to read to borrow up to three books. Intoxicated patrons were also prohibited from borrowing books, a rule that is no longer specified in library policy today.
The book, which shows some signs of water damage from its time near a chimney, was cataloged as No. 506 within the library's initial collection of approximately 1,000 books. Hudson estimates the book was likely lost within a few years of the library's opening in 1872.
The "Antiquities of Athens" will be added to the library's local history collection and will not be available for circulation. "We're not going to allow it to go back out again. We don't want to wait another 150 years for this book to be returned," Hudson said.