A book on classical Greek architecture, 'Antiquities of Athens', has been returned to Kiama Library in Australia after approximately 150 years. The book was borrowed from the library, located 120km south of Sydney, sometime in the mid-1870s.
Ross Simmons, 77, believes his great-grandfather, John Simmons, may have borrowed the book. John Simmons worked as an apprentice stonemason in Westminster in the mid-1800s, assisting in the construction of the Houses of Parliament, before emigrating to Australia in 1857 and becoming an architect.
The book was found in a tea chest hidden behind a boarded-up fireplace during renovations about 30 years ago. It was only a fortnight ago that Ross Simmons discovered the Kiama Library stamp inside the front cover.
Kiama Council libraries manager Michelle Hudson stated that the library's borrowing records from that period are lost, so the exact borrower and date are unknown. The library calculated a potential fine of AU$28,000 (approximately £15,000) for the overdue period, but this has been waived. The book, marked as number 506 in the library's original collection of fewer than 1,000 books, will now be part of its special items collection and will not be available for loan.