Overdue Charles Darwin book returned to library 122 years late
Staff at an Australia library have been stunned after first edition copy of Charles Darwin's Insectivorous Plants book was returned 122 years late.
8:52AM BST 22 Jun 2011
5 CommentsA stamp inside the first edition copy showed that the book had been borrowed more than a century ago, on January 30, 1889.
Investigations have found that the book had been in a private collection for 50 years before being handed to a local university, whose employees passed it back to the library.
Staff at the Camden Library in Sydney's southwest have estimated that the late fees for the book were about $35,000 (£22,800).
Linda Campbell, the library's manager of community services, said it was wonderful to have the book back.
"It has obviously had an interesting journey in that time from what we can tell it ended up in the private collection of an elderly gentleman who gave it to the University of Sydney Farms library when he moved out of the area," she said.
"They saw the stamp in it and sent it to us and we were absolutely thrilled, here's this fantastic aged book that can go back into our collection."
Miss Campbell said the book would not attract a fine because it was the library's "fine amnesty month", when borrowers could bring back late books in exchange for a donation to charity.
However, the book would never be lent out again, she said.
"It will be preserved, it will be here, people will be able to look at it but we're not loaning it out, it's grounded for a very long time."
