PATERSON, New Jersey (WABC) — Work at the public library in Paterson doesn’t always grab a headline – but this time it is after a remarkable book return – 101 years and 8 months after the fact.
It was Shakespeare’s ‘Life of King Henry V’ and it was due back at the Paterson Public Library on February 1, 1923. It was found on the bookshelf in Colorado as Cynthia Delhaie was recently decluttering.
“It’s a tiny book, and its cover was tattered, but not badly,” Delhaie said.
Delhaie told Eyewitness News by phone that she inherited the book from her grandmother, Arlene, in 1995.
“From the get-go, I knew it was old, but I didn’t know how old,” Delhaie said.
She also did not know it didn’t really belong to her until she spotted the library card, which says it was last checked out by Lillian Burns, a name she didn’t recognized. However, it was checked out when her grandmother would have only been six years old – way too young for Shakespeare.
“She was in awe that he found the book, but also that she connected it to its rightful owner,” said Paterson Public Library Director, Corey Fleming.
As Shakespeare would say – no legacy is so rich as honesty.
“That’s how I looked at it – it was not my book, it was the library’s book,” added Delhaie, “I just didn’t want to send it if they were going to charge me – it would have been a lot of money!”
It would have cost $3,868 to be exact.
“We charge ten cents a day…for the price of a book,” added Fleming.
The library waived that fee – the rest is, well, history. The book with a backstory even Shakespeare would have loved is expected to be on display in Paterson very soon.
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