A copy of The Early Work of Aubrey Beardsley, an art book first published in 1899, was borrowed from Worcester Public Library in 1973 and was due back on May 22 of that year. Yet, it wasn’t until 51 years later that the book finally made its way home. A Good Samaritan found it in Boston and returned it to the Cambridge Public Library, which ensured it would reach its original destination.

In a recent Facebook post, the Worcester Public Library expressed gratitude, saying, “Thank you to Cambridge Public Library and the Boston resident who found this book and made sure The Early Work of Aubrey Beardsley was returned to its rightful place in our collection after 51 years.” The library revealed that the book had been part of its collection since July 1899.

A thoughtful message

Kathy Penny, Cambridge Public Library’s collections manager, left a friendly note inside the returned book for Worcester’s resident history and genealogy librarian, Alex London. “Hi Alex! Returning to its rightful home, 51 years later. Thx!” she wrote, adding a touch of warmth to the historic return. “It’s a rarity that someone found this,” London shared with The Worcester Telegram & Gazette. “But not only that they found it, but that it is in such good condition.”

The legacy of Aubrey Beardsley

Aubrey Beardsley, the book’s subject, was a renowned 19th-century English illustrator and author known for his distinctive black ink drawings influenced by Japanese woodcuts. According to London’s Tate Art Gallery, Beardsley was a “leading div in the aesthetic movement” alongside Oscar Wilde and James McNeill Whistler, with a style marked by the grotesque, decadent, and erotic.

Beardsley’s work once sparked controversy, and in 1966, a British museum displaying his prints faced obscenity charges. Despite his affinity for the grotesque, Beardsley later converted to Catholicism, even requesting his publisher destroy some of his more risqué works on his deathbed—a request that went unheeded. He died from tuberculosis shortly thereafter.

A historic artefact restored

Now, over a century after its original addition to Worcester’s collection and five decades past its due date, The Early Work of Aubrey Beardsley has found its way back, offering a reminder of both the enduring value of libraries and the unexpected acts of kindness that keep history alive.