Overdue Book Returned to Library After 150 Years
A book on Greek antiquities has been returned to an Australian public library 150 years after it went missing. The book, Antiquities of Athens, published in 1858, was discovered inside a sealed fireplace during home renovations in Kiama.
The book was part of the library's original collection of around 1,000 books and was marked as No. 506. Library manager Michelle Hudson suspects the book was lost within a few years of the library opening in 1872.
Ross Simmons, who returned the book to the library last week, assumed it had been borrowed by his great-great-grandfather John Simmons, who owned the house where it was found.
Hudson said that if the library's rules from the 1870s were applied today, the fine for the overdue book would amount to around 28,000 Australian dollars ($19,500), adjusting for inflation. However, since the library's records of borrowers in the 1870s have been lost, it is unclear who the last borrower was.