A book concerning Greek antiquities has been returned to an Australian public library approximately 150 years late, carrying water damage from years spent bricked inside a sealed fireplace, according to Apnews reports. The volume, titled Antiquities of Athens
and published in 1858, was brought back to the ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation in the seaside town of Kiama by local resident Ross Simmons, who discovered it during recent home renovations.
Book Found Bricked in Fireplaces Returned After 150 Years
Kiama Library manager Michelle Hudson stated that the institution had never received an item of such age back in its history. Hudson noted that while library staff occasionally see materials returned 30 or 40 years late during estate cleanouts, a century-and-a-half delay is unprecedented for the facility.
Origins and the Missing Borrower Record
The library officially opened in 1872, and the returned volume was cataloged as item No. 506 within the original collection of roughly 1,000 books. Hudson suspects the text was lost within the first few years of the library’s operation. When the book was borrowed, it was housed in the Kiama School of Arts building before the library moved to its current location on Railway Parade.
Based on the British three-pence-a-week overdue fee printed on the book’s inside cover alongside original library rules, staff calculated that the accumulated late fee would total approximately 28,000 Australian dollars, or about $19,500, when adjusted for inflation. However, the fine will not be collected because historical borrower records from the 1870s were lost over time, leaving no paper trail to identify the final borrower.
Unfortunately, we have a missing link. There’s nothing in the book that tells us who the last borrower was,
Hudson explained.
Ross Simmons surmised that the book might have been originally checked out by his great-great-grandfather, John Simmons, an English immigrant and former alderman in Kiama’s municipal government who resided in the cottage where the tea crate was uncovered. The 77-year-old finder stated he had no anxieties about facing potential family debts from an angry librarian, remarking that he had spent his life managing irate customers.
Antiquated 19th-Century Library Rules
The inside cover of Antiquities of Athens
outlines strict operational guidelines enforced when the Kiama Library first opened. Under 1870s by-laws, patrons were strictly prohibited from borrowing a new book until any prior overdue debts were fully settled and outstanding volumes were returned. Hudson suggested that this policy might explain why the borrower chose to conceal the book rather than face penalties.
Additional historical regulations from the era included:
- Borrowing limits restricted households to a maximum of three books, provided at least six members could prove they were literate.
- Individuals arriving at the library in a state of intoxication were barred from borrowing items.
- Disruptive behavior incurred separate fines of at least five shillings per offense.
Today, the library no longer requires proof of reading ability, and current policies simply ask disruptive users to leave rather than enforcing specific intoxication clauses.
Preservation and Future Display
Despite minor weather and water damage sustained inside the tea crate, the book remains in good physical condition and features 70 black-and-white illustrations alongside fold-out pages with larger diagrams. Rather than returning to general circulation, the volume will be permanently retired and stored in an archival-quality box.
Library officials intend to place the historic book into the local history collection so community members can examine its cultural heritage. 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.