Incredible luck befell an unsuspecting Maine salesman. American Will Sideri wanted to buy a mixer, some furniture, and some clothes. But he left with a framed document dated 1285.
The document was a sheet with a Latin script, musical notes and gold ornaments. The buyer, based on his experience in college, decided that he was in front of an ingenious copy of some medieval document. Moreover, the deal cost him only $75. Will Sideri almost immediately agreed to the purchase.
After the sale, the assumptions of local experts surprised the man very much. There were statements that this parchment was in the cathedral of Beauvais in France and dates back to the 13th century. The document has been used during worship for 700 years. And the estimated cost of a $75 purchase could be $10,000.
But Will Sideri wanted more accurate information, so he turned to one of his teachers. A group of professors after research confirmed the authenticity of the document. This parchment was indeed part of a prayer book that belonged to newspaper publisher William Rendelph Hearst. Prior to this, the old edition for worship was divided into separate pages.
Unfortunately, the practice of dividing books into separate pages was common at the beginning of the 20th century. However, this had simply disastrous consequences – many old books were destroyed.
But there are still places where you can find old editions even today – the "Bouquinistes" section of the Violity website.
