A book that was checked out of a Minnesota library in the early 1900s has finally been returned — and may be one of the few surviving tomes from a 1915 fire.
Librarians at St. Paul Public Library were shocked to receive a 1902 copy of “Famous Composers vol. 2” that had been checked out of the institution more than 100 years ago.
The Nathan Haskell Dole book was found by a patron in Hennepin County, who had been sorting through their mother’s belongings and came across it, according to a tweet from the library.
Librarians believe it may be one of the few books that surprised the 1915 fire at the library’s old building that was housed in Old Market Hall.
Around the time, one-third of the library’s collection had been checked out and “Famous Composers” is believed to have been among them.
Around 160,000 titles were lost in the blaze, according to the library.
“Virtually the entire library was destroyed,” it said in a tweet. “This book was probably one of the lucky few that survived!”
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