The Concord Public Library in New Hampshire recently received a long-overdue magazine. John Hanson, an 84-year-old man, returned the September 1894 issue of The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine—48,220 days, or approximately 132 years, past its original due date. However, thanks to the library’s current policy of suspending overdue fines, he was spared a potential fine of $12,055.
In a Facebook post, the Concord Public Library stated that while they had anticipated the return of long-overdue items after announcing the suspension of fines, they “certainly didn’t expect something from the late 19th century.”
Hanson, who currently lives in Barrington, is unsure how he came to possess the 1894 magazine in the first place. The library noted that the issue had sat in his home for decades; he only decided to return it to its “original home” after learning about the library’s fine suspension policy.
Jennifer Needham, the library’s archives and outreach coordinator, recalled Hanson approaching the circulation desk and saying, “I have a book to return, and I bet you’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Needham initially expected an old book from the 1980s, 1990s, or even the 2000s. She was astonished when Hanson produced a 19th-century publication, exclaiming on the spot, “Oh, tell me more.”
Despite having kept the vintage magazine in his home for decades, Hanson remains uncertain of its origins. “I don’t know if it was a gift or if I picked it up from a pile of free books by the roadside,” he said. “I really don’t know.”