A book titled 'Antiquities of Athens' has been returned to Kiama Library in Kiama, Australia, an estimated 150 years overdue, according to library officials. The book, published in 1858, was found inside a tea crate bricked into a sealed fireplace during a home renovation.
Estimated late return fine if adjusted for inflation, calculated based on 19th-century borrowing rules.
Kiama Library manager Michelle Hudson stated that the overdue fee would be approximately A$28,000 (about US$19,500 or £14,600) allowing for inflation, but the library has not collected it. The fee was calculated based on the British three pence per week overdue fee printed in the book, with rules from when the library opened in 1872.
Hudson expects the book was lost within a few years of the library opening. The library journal from the 1870s that recorded borrowing was lost, so the final borrower cannot be traced. The book had some water damage from being under a chimney.
The returned book will be displayed in the library's local history collection and will not be lent out again. It was marked as No. 506 in the library's original collection of around 1,000 books.