Librarian Finds A Half-Eaten Cookie Inside A Book Dating Back To 1529

The cookie found in a copy of St. Augustine is believed to be only around 50 years old, much younger than the manuscript it was wedged in.

There is much more involved in reading a book than simply opening it and taking a look at the words. We probably follow some type of ritual, whether it is using the same bookmark or perhaps folding down the corner of the page to mark our spot. Some people even may get a little hungry when they read, and it seems as if that is nothing new.

A librarian was looking through a book when they found a half-eaten cookie. It might not be all that surprising but the book itself was actually a 1529 addition of a manuscript. This may sound a little strange to you and it actually is.

The story broke in the form of a tweet from the Cambridge University Library’s special collections. A picture was posted of the half-eaten cookie inside of the book. The area of the University’s library that was responsible for posting the picture houses manuscripts, archives, maps, music, rare books, and photographs according to the account bio on twitter.

The book, dating back to 1529, was a copy of St. Augustine. A picture of the discovery was posted along with the caption: “Today’s unexpected discovery in a 1529 volume of Augustine. For future reference, we have acid free paper to mark your place. Please don’t use baked goods.”

If I had to guess, I would say that the cookie was a chocolate chip but you can tell that it has some age to it. You can also see the stain near the cookie from where it was pressed between the pages. Vintage News reports that the cookie is probably only about 50 years old. Prior to the time that it came to be in Cambridge’s collection, it was owned by a grammar school. Perhaps a schoolboy had dropped the cookie between pages and it wasn’t checked thoroughly before it went to the University.

Twitter had a good laugh from the picture and some were even blaming the Cookie Monster. Others were wondering if someone had tried the old cookie and still others were worried about the book.

If nothing else it’s a good reminder that we should never use food as a bookmark. It’s also a reminder that you never know what you’ll find at the library.

Subscribe to Dusty Old Thing