The discovery came as Stuart Plain, curator of rare books at West Virginia University Libraries, was sorting through a recent book donation, the Associated Press reported. Plain found the tract and noted that it was part of a New Bedford Library collection and, more importantly, it did not have the “Retired” stamp indicating that the book, though expired, had not been thrown away. Plane contacted Jody Goodman, a special collections librarian in New Bedford, and informed her of the find. “The copy came back in very good condition,” New Bedford Public Library director Olivia Melo said Friday. “Someone must have kept it on a beautiful shelf because it was in very good condition and was probably passed down from parent to child.” .
The treatise was first published in 1881, two years after Maxwell’s death in 1879, although the copy now in the New Bedford Library is not considered a rare edition of the work, Melo said. The library sometimes receives books that are 10 or 15 years late, but no more than a century, he said. The New Bedford Library charges a surcharge of 5 cents per day. In this scenario, someone who returns a book 119 years late will face a hefty fine of more than $2,100. The good news is that the Massachusetts Library’s maximum late fee for books is $2 maximum.
The treatise was published at a time when the world was just beginning to understand the possibilities of electricity. In 1880, Thomas Edison received a landmark patent incorporating the principles of his incandescent lamp. According to Melo, the discovery and return of the book is a testament to the longevity of the printed word, especially in times of computerization and instant access to incomprehensible amounts of information. “The value of a printed book is that it is not digital, it is not going to disappear. You just hold it in your hands and you get the feeling that someone had this book 120 years ago and read it, and here it is in my hands, she said. “He will still be here in a hundred years. A printed book will always be valuable.”
