Rare Book Retruned After 80 Years

Aug. 1, 2001 -- Libraries are used to having their books disappear for months, even years, thanks to forgetful patrons. But when Julie Geissler returned a book last week to the Boston Public Library, librarians were speechless.

Geissler returned an 1859 first edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, whose value is reported to be between $10,000 and $50,000. Scot Cornwall, the research librarian who received the rare book, was so taken aback he almost forgot to ask Geissler's name as she walked away.

The book had been missing for more than 80 years.

This edition is one of 1,250 original copies. "Because it is not in its original cloth binding and not in perfect condition, its value may be at $10,000," said Roberta Zonghi, Keeper of Rare Books of the Boston Public Library. "If restored, the book could be worth $30,000.

Geissler, an environmental science major, received the treasure from her mother after cleaning out the home of her great-great-grand uncle, William Hastings, a professor of Shakespeare at Brown University. His name and the amount "$61" is inscribed in the book, along with a faded bookplate from the Boston Public Library.

Stolen Book Couldn't Be Appraised, Insured

The first edition was stolen and should not have been in circulation. It appears that Hastings purchased the book after it was stolen.

"Although I wanted to keep the book in the family as an heirloom, I couldn't in good conscience, since the book wasn't mine to pass down," says Geissler. While it was painful to return the book, she thought it should be in a place where more people could enjoy it.

Since the text was stolen, she wouldn't have been able to get it appropriately appraised and insured. If anything had happened to it under her care, she said she would not be able to live with herself.

According to P.A. d'Arbeloff, the spokesman for the Boston Public Library, the book was part of the research library and hence could not be checked out by patrons. "In the late 1800s security was not that great," she explains.

Darwin's text, which was published in 1859, first introduced his theory of evolution by arguing that plants and animals develop slowly from earlier forms where natural selection determines which forms survive.