Many people find old books lying somewhere, but don’t really care or bother about it much, but then when you spot a book which seems interesting or unique you may become interested in it’s value.
This is how restaurant owner Ruben Navarette felt when he spotted an old Bible left behind in his Italian restaurant Azzuro, in Virginia.
Navarette discovered a 100 year old Bible inside a plastic bag in the restaurant bathroom in October 2018, he thought the owner would return soon. “I wrote a date on it and stuck in the safe because I figured for a Bible they’ll probably be back the next day.”
But no one came to claim the Bible, and Navarette held onto the Bible which had a date and a name written in cursive on the first page. “Eleanor Pauline Dillard” was a mystery. It wasn’t known if she received the Bible on “December 25, 1923,” or if perhaps this Bible was one she passed on to a grandchild or great-grandchild.
The only thing Navarette knew was that this Bible meant something to someone, and knew he would save it for the day the owner would come back for it.
If he wanted he could have taken the book to a rare books dealer to get something for it and although it wasn’t a Gutenberg Bible, worth millions, according to History.com, but he would surely have got some cash for it.
“You don’t want to touch it because you’re afraid you may break it — it’s so fragile,” he said. There wasn’t much more than the name and date in the way of clues. A bookmark and a picture of Jesus were all he found between the fragile pages. Not even the restaurant’s reservation system was much help in solving the mystery.
After a few months of waiting, he decided to get help track down the owner, so he reached out to local news and soon the person was found.
Thankfully the owner was reunited with the Bible. It must be a special feeling to have their cherished Bible back in their hands.