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A rare book on Greek antiquities has been returned to a public library in Australia approximately 150 years overdue \u2014 after being discovered bricked inside a sealed fireplace.<\/p>\n
The volume, titled Antiquities of Athens<\/em> and published in 1858, was handed back last week to the Kiama Library in the seaside town of Kiama, New South Wales. Local resident Ross Simmons found the book during recent renovations of his family home, where it had been stored inside a tea crate sealed within a fireplace.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve never had anything that old come back to us,\u201d said library manager Michelle Hudson.<\/p>\n The Kiama Library opened in 1872, and Antiquities of Athens<\/em> was listed as item No. 506 in its original collection of around 1,000 books. Hudson believes the book was likely lost within the first few years of the library\u2019s operation.<\/p>\n Ross Simmons believes the book was borrowed by his great-great-grandfather, John Simmons, who lived in the house at the time and later served as a local alderman.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m making an assumption. He was in residence in the cottage around about that time and his children were probably too young,\u201d Simmons told the Associated Press.<\/p>\n Based on the original late fee of three pence per week printed inside the book, the overdue fine would today amount to around 28,000 Australian dollars<\/strong> (approximately \u20ac16,500\u2013\u20ac17,000), after adjusting for inflation.<\/p>\n However, the library no longer has borrower records from the 1870s, so no fine will be charged.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, we have a missing link. There\u2019s nothing in the book that tells us who the last borrower was,\u201d Hudson said.<\/p>\n 19th-century library rules required that any overdue debt be paid before another book could be borrowed. Other regulations of the era included limits on how many books a household could borrow (based on the number of members who could read) and a ban on lending to anyone who arrived at the library \u201cin a state of intoxication.\u201d<\/p>\n The water-damaged volume will now form part of the library\u2019s local history collection and will not be allowed to circulate again.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to allow it to go back out again. We don\u2019t want to wait another 150 years for this book to be returned,\u201d Hudson said.<\/p>\n Simmons, 77, said he was unconcerned about any potential fine. \u201cI\u2019ve spent a lifetime dealing with irate customers\u2026 Just stick to your guns and say do your worst.\u201d<\/p>\nA Lost Piece of Library History<\/h3>\n
The Potential Fine<\/h3>\n
Old Library Rules<\/h3>\n
Book to Stay in Local History Collection<\/h3>\n