As books go, James Clerk Maxwell’s “An Elementary Treatise on Electricity” is hardly a household name, but it has gained renewed attention after a copy was returned last month to a Massachusetts library nearly 120 years overdue.
“This is definitely the longest overdue book that we’ve gotten back,” Olivia Melo, the library’s director, said on Sunday.
“And we do get some books back after, you know, 10, 15 years.”The book, published in 1881 and written by a prominent Scottish physicist, was an early scientific text laying out electrical theories.
Its 208 pages, bound by a cranberry-colored cover, are crammed with technical jargon and medleys of elaborate mathematical equations.
The library acquired the book in 1882, Ms. Melo said.
Persons:
James Clerk Maxwell’s, we’ve, ” Olivia Melo, ”, Melo
Locations:
Massachusetts, Scottish