Rare 1858 volume returned to Australian library after 150 Years

A home renovation in Australia recently uncovered a piece of literary history that had been missing for a century and a half. A homeowner in the coastal community of Kiama, located south of Sydney in New South Wales, was tearing down wall structures. Amidst, he stumbled upon a sealed fireplace. Inside an old wooden tea crate behind the brickwork was an antique book that belonged to the town’s local library.

The volume, titled Antiquities of Athens, was published in London in 1858. Staff at the Kiama Library realized that the book had been missing since 1870s. Library officials described the return as completely unprecedented. While they occasionally receive books that are a few decades late during estate cleanouts, they had never seen a volume missing for over a century.

The book itself is a notable historical work. It was originally authored by British architects James Stuart and Nicholas Revett to document classical Greek architecture. Book No. 506. A part of Kiama Library’s inaugural catalog which comprised roughly 1,000 items when the library first opened its doors in 1872.

Despite enduring around 150 years encased inside a chimney cavity, the physical volume appeared in a surprising condition. Mild water exposure near the margins and natural weathering consistent with a century of neglect. However, the pages and original library stamps remained clearly legible.

How the book ended up sealed behind a fireplace wall remains open to speculation. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, homeowners used unwanted household items as insulation or filler material when bricking over chimney flues. When Kiama Library manager Michelle Hudson examined the interior cover of the returned tome, she discovered the original set of lending regulations printed inside. Among those provisions was a penalty clause dictating an overdue fee of three British pence per week.

Doing the math to adjust that Victorian-era fine for inflation over 150 years results in an eye-watering figure: roughly  $28,000 Australian dollars (approximately $19,500 USD). Luckily for the current homeowner who handed it over, the library has no intention of collecting. In fact, even if staff wanted to hold someone accountable, identifying the original borrower is impossible. The library’s paper borrow ledgers from the 1870s were lost or discarded long ago. It left a complete mystery as to who last checked out the book.

The volume provides a fascinating glimpse into Victorian-era social norms and public library regulations. A borrower was forbidden from checking out another book until any previously borrowed item was returned and all associated fines were cleared. Hudson playfully speculated that this rule might explain why the original patron never brought the book back. Once the fine started accumulating, returning it became too costly. Households could borrow up to three books at a time, but only if at least six members of the family were verified as capable of reading. The regulations specifically prohibited lending books to individuals who arrived at the library in a state of intoxication.

Modern library policies focus on patron code of conduct rather than testing family literacy rates. However, these antique guidelines serve as a memorable reminder of how public institutions functioned in colonial Australia.

Antiquities of Athens will not be re-entering general circulation returning home after a century and a half in exile. Library staff plan to place the volume on permanent display within their local history archive. It is aimed to preserve it as both a physical artifact of Victorian publishing and a symbol of local history.

As Hudson quipped, the library is thrilled to have its 506th catalog entry back on the shelves. Also, they have no intention of risking another 150-year wait to see it again.