A book borrowed from the Kiama (Australia) Library in 1876 has been returned.
The book - The Antiquities of Athens - was found in a tea chest bricked into a fireplace by a family renovating their home in Kiama, NSW.
Despite some damage, the book is still in good condition.
As well as the ownership stamp inside the front cover, it also states the library’s opening hours, borrowing restrictions and, crucially, fines.
At a rate of three pence per week for every week the book is overdue, library staff estimate the book has racked up an overdue bill of $28,000, accounting for inflation.
As well as showing that The Antiquities of Athens was the 506th item added to the Kiama Library’s collection, the by-laws inside the book give an amusing insight into the process of borrowing a book in 1872 when the laws were passed.
Anyone intoxicated was not allowed to borrow a book, and anyone behaving in a disorderly manner would be fined at least five shillings per offence.
Book loans were restricted to one volume per person, but exceptions could be made to increase that if a household had six members who could prove they could read.
