In Australia, a book was returned to the library after 150 years
Kyiv • UNN
In the city of Kiama, Australia, a book from 1858, found walled up in a fireplace, was returned to the public library. The publication is considered overdue by approximately 150 years.
In the coastal city of Kiama, Australia, a book that was found walled up in a fireplace during a home renovation has been returned to the public library. The publication, released in 1858, is considered overdue by approximately 150 years. This was reported by AP, as conveyed by UNN.
Details
According to the publication, the book "Antiquities of Athens" was returned to the library last week by local resident Ross Simmons. He said he found it during a home renovation in a tea chest that was bricked up in the fireplace. The man suggests that the book was once borrowed by his great-great-grandfather John Simmons, who owned the house.
"I'm making an assumption. Around that time, he lived in the cottage, and his children were probably too young," said Ross Simmons.
Kiama Library manager Michelle Hudson said the institution had never received such an old book back before.
"Nothing that old has ever been returned to us," the manager said.
Specifically, the library opened in 1872, and the found book, published in 1858, bore the number "506" in a collection of about a thousand volumes. According to Hudson, the book was likely lost in the early years after the library's opening.
