Magazine Returned To Library After 132 Years, Fine Amounts To Rs 11.5 Lakh

A long-overdue magazine borrowed from a New Hampshire library in the US has finally been returned after a 132-year delay. John Hanson, an 84-year-old Barrington resident, recently walked into the Concord Public Library to submit the September 1894 issue of The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine. Hanson was inspired to return the 19th-century periodical after the library announced a freeze on fines.

The magazine was 48,220 days overdue and would have incurred a Rs 11.5 lakh ($12,055) fine. Hanson said the magazine had been "hanging around" his house for decades, but he had no idea how it ended up in his home.

The library expected the fine freeze to bring back long-overdue books, but the return of the magazine published in 1894 completely caught them by surprise.

"We've witnessed many happy faces since announcing our fine freeze! Of course, we expected long overdue books to be returned, but certainly not something from the late 19th century!" the library said in a social media post.

"This September 1894 issue of "The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine" has been hanging around John's house for decades. He has no idea how it ended up at his home, but upon seeing the fine freeze article in the Concord Monitor, he decided that it was time to return it to its original home!"

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Book Return

Hanson told NBC News that he first chanced upon the magazine during a move from Boscawen to Barrington in 1966. Even then, he did not know how the periodical got into his possession. His parents didn't have Concord Public Library cards either.

“I don't know, I really don't know,” Hanson said. “So I don't know if it's something that I got as a gift that was given to me. Or did I pick this up from a pile of free books on the side of the road to read? I honestly don't know.”

As per Hanson, his late wife, Carol, was a voracious reader who frequently visited the public library. However, he insisted that she would have never allowed a checked-out book or magazine to languish for so many years.